Dawlish Community Larder Signposting Project

Aim

Helping people out of food poverty and into greater financial resilience, whilst tackling climate change, through food redistribution.

Who are we?

“In 1994 as I reflected on the needs of the city of my birth I wrote these words: ‘In our dreams and visions we see crime rates dropping, violence decreasing, drug dealers disappearing, prostitution declining and apathy diminishing.  We see business booming, housing improving, schools flourishing and hope rising’.” (Debra Green OBE DL)

“We aren’t like a team, we’re like a family” Recent quote from one Dawlish Community Larder volunteer.

ROC Dawlish (ROC stands for Redeeming Our Communities; roc.uk.com) is a small local charity that works collaboratively alongside the other local charities, public agencies and businesses as a strategic partner in setting up and running Helping Dawlish (helpingdawlish.co.uk). We bring together local people of goodwill, facilitating them to work together to build safer, kinder communities. In this way, we bring about community transformation through strategic partnerships which open up opportunities for improved community cohesion. This partnership approach has seen fresh hope brought to some of the most deprived and challenging areas of the UK, urban and rural alike. In this way, ROC models ‘asset-based community transformation’ – the community becoming the answer to its own problems.

What do we do?

“Since you’ve been picking up our surplus food, I’ve been sleeping better at night, knowing it’s not going to waste” (a local supermarket manager).

“Dawlish community larder have been a massive support to me and my family when times have been difficult. The volunteers are kind, supportive and really care about what they do to help the community” (one local client). 

We deliver emergency groceries and surplus food to local people in need, and empower everyone to take control of their financial wellbeing by personalised, relational signposting. Since the start of 2023 alone, our larder has been an essential lifeline for families across Dawlish and surrounding areas, providing food, supplies, and support to those in need.

People Supported

• Adults: 1,172
• Children: 847
• In addition, three local schools have been supported, two of which now run their own mini-larders.
• Local hospitals and care homes have also been supported.
  
  

At the same time, our project delivers real climate action. Food waste is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions according to the UN*. By rescuing high-quality surplus food and redistributing it through our larder, we drastically cut the amount that would otherwise end up contributing to climate change. This helps protect the environment while providing a dignified, community-centred route to affordable food. In this way, we’re helping Dawlish to take responsibility for its own food waste, and helping to lift people out of poverty.

*unfccc.int/news/food-loss-and-waste-account-for-8-10-of-annual-global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-cost-usd-1-trillion

What difference are we making?

“The larder has been a life saver to our family. We moved to Dawlish last October and universal credits took half of our money out of the blue. The larder is needed very much and includes things a lot of other places don't provide. The team are amazing” (a recent client family).

“Dawlish community Larder has recently supported some of our Pre-School families by providing food and essentials during a time of difficulty with rising costs. This has reduced financial pressures, and ensured children come to pre-school well nourished and ready for their day. The larder has strengthened our relationship with families, helping them feel supported, less isolated and connected to the local community. Thank you for everything you do!” (a local Early Years Teacher).

Since January 2022, 2,000 local people have been helped directly by the Dawlish Community Larder. In addition, we have helped thousands more indirectly through redistribution of surplus food through local schools, hospitals and care homes. By offering tailored budgeting support and practical guidance, we help households move beyond food insecurity and build long-term financial resilience. Many of the individuals we support face recurring pressures that keep them on the edge of crisis; we ensure that they have the tools, confidence and knowledge to break that cycle.

How can you help?

“For a number of years, we have donated monies raised at our Christmas Coffee and Cakes to the Community Larder.  We have always found that the larder emails us with how the money has been used.  As it comes at the festive period, we see that it is channelled into fresh produce, e.g. milk which in the first weeks of the new year can be in short supply from other donations” (leader of the local walking group).

“My role is record keeping and befriending. I have found the befriending role so rewarding, making contact and getting to know some lovely people who happen to be experiencing tough times” (one of our volunteer team).

We want to run a 12-month pilot project, separate from our core funding, to better connect families and individuals with budgeting and other signposting support, manage partnerships that keep surplus food in circulation, and lead our volunteers who make the Larder a welcoming relational space. With this additional support, households will experience greater financial independence, and our community reduces its environmental footprint—creating healthier, more resilient outcomes for everyone.

We are crowdfunding to raise the finance to run this standalone 12-month pilot project. We aim to employ a temporary part-time Larder Coordinator for 16 hours a week for the duration of this project. This role will enable us to move from an emergency food provision model to a relational signposting model, giving people the dignity of a shopping experience, as well as improving surplus food redistribution beyond what our small team of volunteers can manage. 

Through your help and support, we can continue to reduce food poverty and strengthen financial wellbeing, whilst also delivering on practical, local climate action.

There are three simple ways to get involved and support our project:

1. Make a donation

Every pledge gets us closer to our goal. Early support can help build momentum and inspire others to give too.

2. Spread the word

Share our project with friends, family and your wider network. The more people we reach, the more likely we are to succeed.

3. Volunteer

If you’re local to Dawlish, we’d love to meet up to see how your skills and experience might complement our growing volunteer team.

Thank you so much for reading this far!

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made