Get involved

If you have lived experience of food insecurity, or are involved with a project working to end food poverty in Greater Manchester, then we want you to be a part of the Network.

How you want to be involved is up to you:

  • Sign up to the Mailing List to hear about new events and activities
  • Attend the wider network events every three months. These currently take place virtually and will be advertised through the mailing list and on the News And Events page.
  • Let us know about good practice in ending food poverty that you are involved in, or a problem you’ve spotted that you don’t think is being addressed by contacting info@gmfsan.net
  • Volunteer to be part of one of our Task Force Groups focused on delivering this year’s key priorities, as outlined on the About page.
  • Volunteer to be the link person for your borough or field of work. We will soon be sharing which areas we’re looking for representatives from on the About page under ‘Who is involved in the FSAN?

Other ways to get involved

Not everyone can get involved in everything, and that’s fine. If you live, work or visit Greater Manchester and are concerned about food poverty around you, you may prefer to:

1) Give money: find out more about the best ways you can donate to ending food poverty here

2) Give time or items: we will soon be updating our Give page with opportunities to support local food banks and organisations fighting to end food poverty in Greater Manchester.

Stand up, Speak up!

The issue of food insecurity is the consequence of many complex and complicated issues coming together to form what is known as a ‘wicked problem’. Wicked problems can be viewed as a tied knot of social, economic, environmental and political factors. No single group or individual alone can untangle a wicked problem such as food insecurity - collaborative action is required locally, nationally and globally. Greater Manchester and it’s residents have a proud history of working together, standing up and speaking up for what matters. All voices count in tackling food insecurity so what do you stand for and who can you speak to about taking action?

Different levels of government have various responsibilities around food security:

  • National Government sets the overall budget for what is available for local authorities to spend as well as national policy for welfare, benefits and employment. The eligibility criteria, availability and monetary value of benefits such as Free School Meals and Healthy Start Vouchers are also set at the national level.
  • Local Authorities prioritise what matters most locally and therefore allocate proportions of their overall budget accordingly. They provide and administer their own benefits advice services, Local Welfare Assistance Schemes and other community or hardship related funds. They also play a key role in supporting new or existing VCSE and Faith groups that provide a response to food insecurity.
  • Regional Government (in areas with Combined Authorities like Greater Manchester), have limited formal responsibility for food security, but their elected Mayors have taken political responsibility for making sure the issues surrounding food security and poverty are focused at a regional level. Areas like Greater Manchester are able to speak collectively with ‘one voice’ which can generate considerable impact and influence. Currently, Combined Authorities have not been given any dedicated funds from National Government to run regional preventative programmes to respond to food insecurity.

You can contact your elected representatives, across all levels of government, to ensure they are keeping ending food poverty at the top of their political agenda.

You can find your local Councillors and their contact details at: www.gov.uk/find-your-local-councillors

Your local MP’s details are available at: www.theyworkforyou.com

If you Iive in Greater Manchester you can contact the Greater Manchester Mayor at: the.mayor@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk