Independent Food Aid Network facts for kids
The Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) is a group in the UK that helps independent food banks and other places that give out food aid. It has over 550 members. IFAN became a charity in October 2018. It supports its members, collects information about food banks, and works to stop the need for charity food in the UK.
How IFAN Started
IFAN began in 2016. It learned from similar groups in Canada. Today, it is the second largest group of food banks in the UK. IFAN wants a world where no one needs charity food. They believe everyone should have access to good food. They also push for a good social security system, fair pay, and steady jobs.
In 2017, IFAN showed how much food aid was being used in the UK. Sabine Goodwin helped create a list of independent food banks. This research found that over 2,000 food banks were giving out emergency food parcels. This included IFAN's members and those from the Trussell Trust. This meant many more people were using food banks than official numbers showed.
What IFAN Does
Sabine Goodwin has led IFAN's work since 2018. In 2018, IFAN started collecting information from food banks in Scotland. They worked with a project called A Menu for Change. This information helped to guess how many people used food banks across the whole UK in 2019.
In January 2020, IFAN reported that 1,000 emergency food parcels were given out every day in Scotland. Since March 2020, IFAN has shared information from independent food banks all over the UK.
IFAN has also worked with other charities. They asked the government to measure how many households struggle to get enough food. In February 2019, the DWP said they would add questions about food problems to a yearly survey.
In October 2019, IFAN warned about how a no-deal Brexit could affect food banks. In March 2020, they reported on how panic-buying during Covid-19 affected food banks. In November 2020, Sabine Goodwin wrote that poverty, not just food, causes food problems. She said that efforts to help, like those by Marcus Rashford, must help end poverty for good.
In January 2021, IFAN wrote to the British Prime Minister. They spoke about the dangers faced by food bank volunteers during the pandemic. They asked the government not to rely on charities to fix problems caused by low wages and a weak social security system. In August 2021, Sabine Goodwin wrote for the British Medical Journal. She warned that cutting £20 from Universal Credit would make winter the hardest ever for UK food banks.
In 2020 and 2021, IFAN worked with Feeding Britain and the University of York. They created online talks about unfairness in society and why people need food banks.
Groups IFAN Works With
IFAN is part of many other important groups and campaigns:
- End Child Poverty Coalition
- Scottish Food Coalition
- Disability Benefits Consortium
- Fight Inequality Alliance
- Global Network for Right to Food and Nutrition
- Global Solidarity Alliance for Food, Health and Social Justice
- Living Income Campaign
- Keep the Lifeline Campaign
- Plenty to Share
- All Kids Count
- Five Weeks too Long
BMJ Fundraising Appeal
In December 2020 and January 2021, the BMJ newspaper held its yearly appeal. They raised money for the Independent Food Aid Network. Readers of the BMJ gave over £60,000 to the charity.
