Nourishing Communities vouchers

The Nourishing Communities fresh food voucher scheme provides individuals and families experiencing food insecurity with vouchers that can be redeemed for fresh, nutritious food at Darley Street Market and other participating locations. This cash-first approach promotes dignity, choice, and autonomy while supporting local food retailers.

We are currently piloting the vouchers through existing and new referral partners.

If you are interested in becoming a referral partner, please contact Blanca on vouchers@foodsavers.org.uk.

If you are an individual looking to obtain vouchers, please bear with us whilst we establish a referral pathway for you to access.

About the vouchers

The Nourishing Communities vouchers are aimed at supporting households to access fresh, nutritious food. They can be used to purchase:

• Fresh fruit and vegetables.
• Fresh meat and fish.
• Dairy products.
• Selected other nutritious food options.

Vouchers cannot be used to purchase:

• Chocolate, sweets and crisps.
• Pre-prepared food or ready-meals.
• Drinks.
• Alcohol or tobacco.
• Non-food items.

Following a successful referral, vouchers will be issued weekly. Vouchers are physical items, in denominations of £5. Note that change will not normally be given by retailers. They can be redeemed at a number of stalls on the middle floor of Darley Street Market.

Vouchers can be collected weekly from the FoodSavers Wellnest in Darley Street Market (middle floor).

• FoodSavers Wellnest, Darley Street Market (middle floor), BD1 3HH.
  Monday / Wednesday / Friday, 9-11am.

Additional retailers and collection points may be added in due course.

Alongside the vouchers will be monthly wellbeing support sessions. Attendance at these sessions is a condition of receiving the vouchers.

Initial referrals will be for up to three months. At the end of three months recipients will complete a short questionnaire, and based on that may be re-referred for a further three months. The scheme is designed as a temporary intervention, rather than a long-term ongoing one, and the maximum period of support will be six months.

Eligibility Criteria

To ensure that we reach those most in need, the following eligibility criteria apply to individuals or families being referred for voucher support:

Essential criteria:

• Live in Bradford Metropolitan District.
• Have not received food vouchers from this scheme in the past six months.
• At least one of:
  • Households or individuals experiencing food insecurity due to low income.
  • Families with children living in absolute or relative poverty (as defined by Public Health Outcome Framework indicators B01b)
  • Individuals with no recourse to public funds.

Prioritisation criteria (the more that apply, the higher the priority):

Priority focus on underserved communities experiencing inequalities, including:

• Asylum seekers or refugees.
• People who experience severe mental health issues where food insecurity is a real risk.
• Families with children under 16 years old.
• Residents of high-deprivation areas (based on the Index of Multiple Deprivation):

Bradford Moor	Bowling and Barkerend	City	Eccleshill	Great Horton
Keighley Central	Little Horton	Manningham	Toller	Tong

• Individuals requiring culturally appropriate food options to align with dietary preferences or restrictions.

Locations accepting vouchers

This list will be updated as new locations are added.

Darley Street Market

• Dale Farm Foods
• Priestley’s Fishmongers
• Roswitha’s Deli
• Tropikal food
• Solly’s Fruit & Vegetables
• Taplins Butchers
• Ikhlas Halal Meat
• The Middle Eastern Pantry
• Fruit World
• Spice World