Ards and North Down Borough Council: Social Supermarket Funding 2024-25

Overview

With funding provided by the Department for Communities, Ards and North Down Borough Council is offering this funding to support those most vulnerable and address poverty at its source. The aim of the fund is to run a Social Supermarket (SSM) to support people who are experiencing financial hardship, project proposals that are innovative, have identified good methods to target those who are most in need, and that will help increase community and individual resilience to poverty.

What is a Social Supermarket (SSM) and its aims

A SSM provides members with access to food whilst requiring members to take up a wrap-around of other support services.

It is NOT an emergency short term response, a SSM model can provide people with a pathway out of poverty by recognising that food is only one factor and access to and uptake of a wrap-around service to address advice needs, training and skills which should provide a holistic approach to a transition out of poverty. Providing emergency crisis support will be seen as a duplication of services, should a client not be ready for the support, to sign up for a significant amount of time to avail of the wrap-around service that will break the cycle of poverty, then the client should be referred on to emergency crisis support.

The core aim of the SSM is the provision of a range of personalised ‘wrap-around’ support to equip and empower SSM members to break the cycle of poverty. All members will access ‘wrap-around’ support as a condition of their membership – which include attendances at programmes, sessions, and ‘one-to-one’ mentoring, etc.

It is important to note the key difference between SSM’s and foodbanks. Foodbanks serve as a one-off crisis intervention. By contrast the SSMs (Social Supermarket) are designed to be a preventative measure to stop individuals/ families getting to that point of crisis or on the other side of crisis to support the transition to economic and social sustainability.

SSMs tend to adopt a variety of approaches including a combination of a joining fee and then a weekly membership fee aiming to provide a long-term solution in a dignified manner it is not financial support to target short term crisis.

See Guidance for further clarification.

Budget

Budget £70,000

The amount awarded is subject to funding. ANDBC (Ards and North Down Borough Council) will not proceed until a letter of offer has been received from the Department for Communities, and the exact figure is confirmed. Please be aware that applying for a grant is a competitive process and awards are subject to the availability of funds and are subject to change. The successful applicant/applicants will be appointed for a 3-year basis, subject to annual funding being received.

Who can apply

The Social Supermarket is open to the following eligible organisations/groups operating within Ards and North Down -

• Voluntary Sector Organisations
• Registered charities
• Social enterprises

Applicants will have to demonstrate within their application how they will deliver this service.

Eligible costs

The aim of the fund is to run a Social Supermarket to support people who are experiencing financial hardship, project proposals that are innovative, and that have identified good methods to target those who are most in need and are willing and able to avail of the wrap-around service, and that will help increase community and individual resilience to poverty.

• Overheads must be clearly calculated and appointed.
• Staff time claimed under this project will only be calculated at normal hourly rate of the post and only where the post is not funded from another source.
• Food costs for the shop element of the SSM
• Equipment
• Project costs for the provision of a wrap-around service