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Nourishing Norfolk Impact Report October 2024

Nourishing Norfolk is a programme run by Norfolk Community Foundation that has grown from 3 food hubs in 2021 to a network of 25 community food hubs across Norfolk, supporting over 33,000 people to access affordable food, wraparound support and community connection. Their October 2024 update documents the network's evolution from emergency food provision to a broader mission of building healthier communities through food — covering growing, skills, digital inclusion and mental health.

Report snapshot
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About

Network of 25 community food hubs offering affordable groceries; Nourishing Norfolk Warehouse; Nourishing Norfolk Growers programme (with Notcutts); Volunteer Coordinator Fund; digital inclusion support; wraparound services covering mental health, debt, employment, domestic violence, youth groups, cookery classes and more Custom geography from upload: Norfolk

Key Metrics

Key Metric 1 33,000+ people accessed affordable food across 25 food hubs; 13,200 households registered; 800% growth in food hub network since 2021; 8,000% increase in households signed up for food and support
Key Metric 2 Members save 51%+ off the average shopping basket; 10,000th kilogram of food delivered to hubs by Norse Group (March 2024); 85 essential product lines stocked in central warehouse supplying 70% of hubs weekly
Key Metric 3 300+ volunteers providing 1,000+ volunteer hours per week across the network — estimated labour value in excess of £500,000 per year

Key Outcomes

  • Hubs inspired Essex County Council to create their own social supermarket network based on the Nourishing Norfolk model; featured on BBC Radio 4 Food Programme (on recommendation from Delia Smith); programme presented at national event at the House of Lords hosted by Feeding Britain
  • Volunteer Coordinator Fund enabled people with lower confidence and those from atypical backgrounds to participate in volunteering and transition into employment; digital inclusion support helping members access online banking, benefits, medical appointments and job applications
  • Norfolk supplies 33% of England's edible crops yet many residents lack access to fresh produce; programme expanded to include growing initiative, community meals, cookery classes and partnership with FareShare for national surplus redistribution

Geography

East of England

Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
438,000 pets treated across 49 Pet Hospitals, equivalent to 4,700 pets every working day
Key Metric 2
Over 2 million treatments provided; veterinary services cost over £85 million, funded entirely by donations
Key Metric 3
327,000 children reached with pet education messages; Pet Health Hub received over 4 million online visitors
Veterinary care provided to the pets of over 360,000 people in financial hardship across the UK, with 46% of clients disabled or living with a serious health condition
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
2.4 million benefits calculations completed via free Benefits Calculator
Key Metric 2
1.5 million people identified new benefits worth an average of £5,396 each (£12.9bn total)
Key Metric 3
£3 million in grants awarded, supporting 2,164 people across the UK
4.8 million people accessed the Turn2us website for information on claiming support they are entitled to
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
7,325 individual children supported; 9,269 instances of support across the year; 6,660 referrals fulfilled; 485 emergency newborn hospital packs delivered to 23 London hospitals...
Key Metric 2
734 regular volunteers; 31,348 volunteer hours; 146 one-off volunteers (700+ hours); 99 corporate volunteer groups (3,900 hours)
Key Metric 3
Items gifted worth over £3 million (if new); 128 tonnes of goods redistributed; £22,714 in financial support secured or saved for families via signposting;...
Connections and signposting: Family Connections team spoke to 2,764 families; signposting support provided 1,037 times; 77% of signposting recipients had never accessed similar help before; £22,714 in financial support secured or saved