Food Poverty
Food poverty is commonly defined as 'the inability to acquire or consume an adequate or sufficient quantity of food in socially acceptable ways, or the uncertainty that one will be able to do so’. It is a pressing issue that affects individuals and communities worldwide.
Food poverty can be a long-term challenge or a temporary situation resulting from sudden changes in personal circumstances. People living in food poverty often struggle to afford sufficient nutritious food or face difficulties accessing it within their communities. This can lead to reliance on emergency food aid, such as food banks, to meet their basic needs.
Addressing food poverty requires a multifaceted approach involving government policies, community initiatives, and collaborations with charitable organizations. By raising awareness, advocating for change, and supporting local efforts, we can work towards reducing food poverty and ensuring that everyone has access to sufficient, nutritious food.
Immediate, Non-urgent and Further Support
Please click the link to access our Dover District Support Leaflet.
This leaflet provides information on food provision, debt advice, energy advice and housing support, grouped by:
- Immediate support
- Non-urgent support
- Further support
- Community Hubs
- and finally, how you can engage with DDC through our Community Roots Van.
Household Support Fund
Dover District Council has received funding from Kent County Council to support households who would otherwise struggle to buy food or pay essential utility bills or meet other essential living costs, through the Household Support Fund.
New applications can be made by contacting our providers below from December 2024.
Eligible support could include:
- Food support
- Utilites such as energy and water
- Wider essentials subject to discussion
- Housing costs in exceptional cases of genuine emergency
- Support and advice around all things cost of living.
If you feel you are eligible to access this fund, please contact one of the organisations below who will be able to discuss with you the support required and assist accordingly:
If you have any questions on the Household Support Fund, please contact Community@dover.gov.uk.
The Pensioner 'Just Missing Out' Scheme
This scheme will run from Thursday 28 November to 12pm 5 March 2025, or until all funds are allocated.
This scheme is targeting support for Kent pensioners who will be missing out on the Winter Fuel payments due to the UK Government reforms to this provision and will be made available at the end of November to members of the public and professionals following checking of scheme eligibility. This scheme will operate using an on-line application form that will be available on the Kent Together Cost-of-Living pages and linked to from the main KCC HSF landing page: www.kent.gov.uk/householdsupportfund
The online application form enables the person completing the form to either a) make a self-referral for support or b) complete an application on behalf of another person. For clarification purposes any person working or supporting another individual must use the professional route within the application. Any queries regarding access to the scheme or eligibility can be passed directly to kcc-hsffoodandenergysupport@kent.gov.uk
The application form will allow applicants to determine the type of support they receive. The award valuation is pre-determined at £200 however, the applicant can choose to have this towards food, energy or a combination of food and energy as follows:
- £200 Supermarket food voucher
- Or £200 Energy voucher/card
- Or £100 supermarket food voucher and £100 Energy voucher/card
Who is eligible for the Pensioner ‘Just Missing Out’ Scheme?
This criterion has been set to maximise reach to those most in need, including pensioners who remain in employment.
- Aged 66 or over.
- A Kent resident, permanently living within one of the 12 local authorities covered by Kent County Council (this excludes Medway, Bromley, and Bexley).
- Not in receipt of or eligible for Pension Credits
- ***Single occupancy households receiving upwards of £218.15 per week or £11,343.80 per year
- ***Couple households receiving upwards of £332.95 per week or £17,313.40 per year
***Below this, applicants would be eligible to apply for Pension Credit and able to receive the Winter Fuel payment [if applying before 21 December 2024].
- Combined household income (including both benefit and employment payments) less than £40,000.00 per annum.
- Have savings of £1000 or less
Pension aged residents with no recourse to public funding are still eligible for the scheme. If a National Insurance number is not available, please ask the applicant to email kcc-hsffoodandenergysupport@kent.gov.uk detailing the circumstances and reasons why the applicant should receive this support, or alternatively to speak to a supporting professional to submit an application on their behalf.
Energy cards will be sent by email only. If the person requesting the energy card does not have a smart mobile phone or online access they are encouraged to apply for food where the vouchers can be posted to their home address, as online access will be required to activate energy cards. (see Section 4 for more information regarding energy card activation).
There is a limited amount of funding available for this scheme and funds will be distributed on a first come, first served basis, with only one award per household per scheme.
There is an expectation for professionals to complete due diligence checks of applications to ensure that beneficiaries meet the eligibility criteria as set out below.
Applications made by members of the public will NOT require additional evidence to demonstrate their residency within a Kent district due to digital capability challenges within this cohort, instead, all applications will receive further system checks to ensure criteria is met.
The Winter Food & Energy Support Scheme:
This scheme is currently scheduled to run from 12pm 9 January to 12pm 5 March 2025 or until all funds are allocated.
This Winter support scheme will be launched early January and will be available to members of the public and professionals following checking of scheme eligibility. This scheme will operate using an on-line application form that will be available from the main KCC HSF landing page: www.kent.gov.uk/householdsupportfund
The application form enables the person completing the form to either a) make a self-referral for support or b) complete an application on behalf of another person. For clarification purposes any person working or supporting another individual must use the professional route within the application. Any queries regarding access to the scheme or eligibility can be passed directly to kcc-hsffoodandenergysupport@kent.gov.uk
The application form will allow applicants to determine the type of support they receive. The award valuation is pre-determined at £100 however, the applicant can chose to have this towards food, energy or a combination of food and energy as follows:
- £100 Supermarket food voucher
- Or £100 Energy voucher/card
- Or £60 supermarket food voucher and £40 Energy voucher/card
This scheme is available to Kent residents that received support from the previous HSF5 schemes as well as residents that did not, providing they meet the stated eligibility criteria.
Free School Meal Voucher Support
Eligible families receiving benefits related free school meals will receive voucher support direct from their eligible child/children’s school. Food vouchers will be available to FSM (Free School Meal) eligible children for the October/Christmas/February/Easter school holiday periods = 6 weeks at £10 per week per eligible Child, plus an additional one off £40 supermarket food voucher at Christmas; with plans to distribute these vouchers currently underway. Any queries concerning eligibility, accessing vouchers or general enquiries made in this regard should be directed to the Free School Meal team FreeSchoolMeals@kent.gov.uk.
Healthy Start
Support for young parents
You could qualify for the Healthy Start scheme if you're on benefits and are at least 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4. If you're under 18 and pregnant you automatically qualify even if you are not on any benefits.
Through the Healthy Start scheme, you get a prepaid card which is reloaded with money every 4 weeks to spend on milk, plain fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables, and infant formula milk. The card also entitles you to free vitamins.
To find out more, visit Help to buy food, milk and vitamins - Kent County Council