Signposting and Recipe Leaflets

Our steering group members reflected on getting emergency food parcels but not knowing how to use all the ingredients effectively before they went out of date. So they worked together to create recipe leaflets. They took home emergency parcels and created three nutritious and simple recipes which could be made by our guests.  

The team added signposting information to key local services, from outdoor activities to mental health and community support. 

Developing our Packing System

We’ve worked on the way we process our bags, looking at how people queue, to the environment, the weather that they are facing and how to develop our systems to support people more efficiently. We’ve been working on using cards and a barcode system to help identify guests in a quick and confident manner. That way we can serve our guests faster and waiting times will be lower. 

Developing our ‘Cash-First’ Voucher System

We’ve worked closely with the University of Liverpool and SALIENT Research to understand the impact of a direct giving system through food vouchers for guests. The voucher system showed how valuable the option of choice was to our guests; in the fresh fruit and vegetables they offered to the necessities they were able to purchase. 

But implementing a radical new programme isn’t easy. With the help of our guests and volunteers we’ve started to develop a plan for how to implement a cash-first element to our existing food bank programme, to create a more dignified and effective way of fighting poverty in line with our values. 

Deaf Awareness

We have a fantastic deaf community supporting us to pack our emergency parcels. We organised an interpreted meeting to understand how equal, accessible, and inclusive our food bank feels for deaf volunteers, and where we could improve. The volunteers said that they had an amazing community at Sufra and felt supported, although sometimes volunteering socials and training could feel isolating without a professional interpreter. Therefore, we committed to including budget for interpreters at volunteering socials, core training, and are putting on a deaf awareness training for all volunteers to access.