An event to relaunch and promote the council’s “cash first” approach to assisting people in food crisis took place at Gartlea Community Centre on Monday 3 October.
The event had workshops presented by:
- One Parent Family Scotland
- Routes to Work
- Scottish Welfare Fund
- Housing
- Tackling Poverty Team
- Credit unions
- Trussel Trust
- Professor John McKendrick from SPIRU and Glasgow Caledonian University.
Delegates heard how the Cash First approach first introduced in North Lanarkshire in 2015, was now being adopted by the Scottish Government as best practice to tackle food poverty and insecurity in our communities.
This approach ensures that people were not only assisted to making a claim for a crisis grant but were also given access to information and advice services to ensure that people were given sustainable solutions.
To solidify our approach referrers and providers were asked to sign up to “The Pledge” to promote a dignified solution to food crisis across our communities.
Councillor Geraldine Woods, Convenor of the Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee thanked those in attendance for their dedication to tackling food poverty across our communities.