A sustained increase in people experiencing food insecurity, tied to systemic inequality and a ‘broken’ food system nationally and globally, is catalysing a moment of significant change in the food support services sector. With further funding from Google.org in 2025, Islington Giving is aiming to strengthen the movement of community-led food projects centred around self-sustaining, sustainable approaches that offer members dignified choices.
Responding to a growing crisis
In 2022/23 and 2023/24 national food bank network the Trussell Trust distributed record numbers of food parcels – a direct result of the rising cost of living. In 2025, the number of people accessing food bank remains at record high levels. In Islington, Local data (Islington Council, Feb 2024) shows there are currently:
- 27,350 low-income households with 13,600 children living in these households.
- 5,100 households that are food insecure – meaning they are uncertain whether they can acquire enough food to provide for the household in socially acceptable ways.
- Single-parent families, Black and Minority Ethnic communities, people on Universal Credit or other income-related benefits and households with disabled adults are more likely to experience food insecurity.
Since 2022, Google.org has provided support of more than £1m to Islington Giving and Camden Giving to fund community projects in and around the area of its London head office. In total over the past three years, Islington Giving has committed £490,000 to support food provision services and food-related projects in Islington thanks to this funding.
“Camden Giving and Islington Giving have a deep understanding of the challenges faced by our local communities. They enable grassroots partners to address significant issues of deprivation and food insecurity. We have seen first-hand the positive impact that this collaborative approach has on our neighbourhood, and this grant will build on our long-standing partnership by connecting even more local residents to crisis support, employability and skills programmes.” Zoe Stern, Head of Community Affairs Europe at Google
Aligning with and helping to shape the Islington Food Partnership strategy, Islington Giving has funded 76 food related projects through this work to date. This includes local foodbanks and crisis support, as well as projects offering food-related training and opportunities for local people to develop new skills and increase health and wellbeing.
“The workshops were great, they really helped to push me to cook for myself.”
The Islington Food Partnership Pillars:
- Healthy affordable food for all
- Sustainable local food economy
- Climate emergency
- People-powered change
Case Study: The Margins Project
The Margins’ Project supports people experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. Their services include a drop-in service providing nutritious meals, hygiene facilities, and inclusive community engagement in a warm and safe space. Their Supported Training Programme offers people with experience of homelessness the opportunity to learn professional catering and front-of-house service skills.
Supporting a growing movement
As the number of people accessing foodbanks nationally remains at record numbers, and the impact of the sustained rise in the cost of living grows, questions are being raised about the longevity of current models of supporting people facing ongoing food insecurity.
Julie Parish at Octopus Community Network – a mutual collaboration between 14 of Islington’s largest multi-purpose community centres – says:
“The current food bank model is not sustainable because it predominantly relies on donations to address a systemic issue of food insecurity caused by inadequate income and social support. Most food banks rely on volunteers who are in short supply and/or are simply overwhelmed with the complex tasks of sourcing, collecting and distributing food, and of course, the rising demand. We know that in some cases, organisations running food banks are using their own reserves and need to invest significant amounts of time fundraising. To cope with this, many food banks have introduced systems such as requiring proof of eligibility, limited time offers and in some cases requirements such as also signing up to be a volunteer to support the provision.”
Food Banks, although well-intentioned, have also been criticised for the quality of their nutritional offer. Feeding Britain, an organisation working with partners across the UK to develop sustainable and dignified approaches to protect people from hunger, explains that:
“Since food is an important part of cultural and personal identity, it is not surprising that this undermines dignity and is often experienced as shameful, no matter how well intended. The lack of choice at many food banks is also problematic. Having choice over what to eat is something we usually take for granted; losing it means a loss of autonomy and dignity.”
These and other issues are contributing to a movement of community-led food projects and approaches centred around self-sustaining, sustainable approaches that offer members dignified choices and help to build a thriving food system that works for and is led by local people. The movement includes a growing sector of community food projects such as social supermarkets, pantries, larders, food clubs, community supermarkets, mobile community shops, cooperatives and more. (Feeding Britain) These models which often provide access to a community café alongside groceries, provide opportunities to cater for diverse dietary and health needs, to promote more dignified and culturally appropriate offers and can provide essential wrap-around support to those using them. (Octopus Community Network)
Responding to this movement locally, in the third year of our Food Fund programme, we developed a programme to support foodbanks in the process of effecting change to a sustainable model of operation, as outlined above. With a generous donation of £225,000 from Google.org, we prioritised funding for:
- Food banks transitioning to sustainable models like social supermarkets and pantries
- Projects that offer more than food, helping people with financial resilience, mental health, and wellbeing
- Initiatives that build volunteer capacity, ensuring services can meet residents’ wider need
Octopus Community Network, for example, champions the ‘Food Ladder’ model.
“Food Ladders are multi-scaled approaches to food insecurity and building community resilience that can work successfully on a neighbourhood level. Food Ladders work on three levels of support:
1. Catching: crisis support e.g. emergency food aid, mental health support, access to social services.
2. Capacity building to enable change: support for those currently not in crisis, but who are struggling. Work with this group focuses on community cooking, access to community supermarkets, lunch clubs and holiday food clubs. Whilst continuing to provide essential wrap-around support, this rung of the ladder focuses on enabling people to become more resilient and adaptable.
3. Self-organised community change: supporting communities to identify and realise goals by taking an asset-based approach to capitalise on what is good in the community. Projects could include cooperative food growing, food cooperatives, community joint-purchasing direct from farmers and suppliers, community cooking and meal provision.
This model does not have to rely on one organisation providing all three stages of the ladder (unless it is large enough to do so), but has the potential to foster collaboration between multiple providers within a neighbourhood to join up by working to their strengths and offering local people the opportunity to progress up the ladder and feel confident in self-organising community change in the long term.”
“Thanks to Google’s financial support, and working together as an Islington community, we have already achieved significant impact for local people through the Islington Giving Food Fund. The food environment is an evolving landscape and through collaborative efforts with a range of partners including the Islington Food Partnership, Feeding Britain and others, we are striving to tackle the many facets of food insecurity at a local level and make a difference to the lives of the diverse communities that the food fund reaches and supports. However, this work can only go so far, and there is a need for more support financially for food aid providers, to support capacity, improve practices and create innovative approaches that will support our communities and environment for the long term.” Victor Momodu, Programme Manager, Islington Giving.
With thanks to Julie Parish, Octopus Community Network and Andrew Forsey, Feeding Britain for their knowledge and insights which shaped this article.
Featured Image: Hillside Clubhouse, Islington
