F2 Centre, 3 Reuben Plaza, Rialto, Dublin and online via Zoom
An event brought to you by the All-island Food Poverty Network hosted by safefood and the Food Standards Agency.
Date: 26 September 2023
Venue: F2 Centre, 3 Reuben Plaza, Rialto, Dublin and online via Zoom
Time: 9.30am to 1.30pm
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Aim of the event
Food poverty is a highly complex issue. Understanding the lived experience can provide valuable insight on the realities of food poverty. This event explored how a deeper understanding of the lived experience can make policy and interventions more effective.
Programme
9:30am – Registration with tea and coffee
10am – Opening address
10.15am – Stephen Moffatt, Barnardos, Cost of living crisis and food insecurity across disadvantaged communities
10.40am – Jonny Currie, The Trussell Trust, ‘Hunger in Northern Ireland’
11.05am – Break
11.25am – Dr Clare Pettinger, University of Plymouth, ‘Engaging with ‘less affluent’ communities who are left behind by the traditional UK food system (FoodSEqual project)’
12pm - Megan Weimann, Northdown Communityworks, ‘Well Fed – real life in a community supermarket’
Stephen is National Policy Manager at Barnardos since 2021. Prior to that he worked across social policy areas in the UK around issues such as homelessness with Homeless Link, substance misuse with Addaction and criminal justice reform with the Criminal Justice Alliance. Stephen has a particular interest in system change and delivering reform based on views and solutions of experts by experience.
Jonny Currie
The Trussell Trust
Jonny Currie has worked in the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland for 20 years. He is currently Northern Ireland Lead for The Trussell Trust, an anti-poverty charity which works with Food Banks to provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, while also campaigning for change to end the need for food banks in the future. Jonny is also Joint-chair of YMCA Ireland and an independent member of Ards and North Down Policing and Community Safety Partnership.
Clare is a registered dietitian, public health nutritionist and experienced educator at the University of Plymouth. She is actively engaged in creative community research around food systems, poverty and social justice. She believes strongly that innovative approaches are required to tackle local (and global) health, social and planetary well-being challenges.
Her current research is co-leading a 5-year consortium food systems project 'FoodSEqual:Co-production of healthy, sustainable food systems for disadvantaged communities' (led by University of Reading, funded £6m by UK Research and Innovation Strategic Priorities fund) which aims for more equity in access to and affordability of healthy and sustainable diets across socio-economic levels. The project uses creative methods to empower and engage communities, giving them a voice to share their food stories, addressing issues of power to enhance wellbeing and inform social justice discourse.
Megan has been working with people experiencing crisis throughout her career in a range of settings but over the past year and a half has been involved in launching Well Fed, a community supermarket in Ards & North Down. She works one to one with individuals and families experiencing crisis. She makes sure they are well fed by offering them access to a range of food and then helps them to tackle some of the current issues that they are facing.
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