OUR IMPACT
HOW IT STARTED
Action Pantry Bath began as a local initiative in 2019 to make affordable food easily accessible to people experiencing financial hardship and/or health issues. Through Action Pantry, we make nourishing food accessible to people living in some of the most deprived areas in England.
Within a year, the Pantry was supporting over 100 families with weekly fresh food and cupboard essentials, and additional school meals during the holidays. We opened our second Pantry in Oxford in 2020, and within a month were providing groceries and free school meals to over 35 families. With growing food insecurities due to the impact of the current cost of living crisis, our Pantries are a vital resource to hundreds of families.
Esther - Pantry Member
“I really cannot say how much help my Pantry box is. I forgot I would get it today and had been thinking of ways to try and stretch our food this week. Then appears a box full of amazing food and now we can actually eat properly the whole week! The sense of relief when it arrives is so huge. I just know that everyone who gets it will also feel the same. MiA is just incredible.”
THE NEED
20% OF CHILDREN IN BATH LIVE BELOW THE POVERTY LINE
30% OF CHILDREN IN OXFORD LIVE BELOW THE POVERTY LINE
Did you know that Oxford and Bath have some of the most deprived neighbourhoods? There is growing inequality and disparity between the rich and poor in these areas, resulting in poverty and food insecurity.
ACTION PANTRY PROVIDES
other INFORMATION
Referrals: Referrals can be made by professionals such as social workers, teachers or support workers. A referral form for either the Bath Pantry or Oxford Pantry can be downloaded below.
BATH
Team Leader - Fiona Wakely
117 High Street, Twerton, Bath, BA2 1DA
actionpantry@mercyinaction.org.uk
07874387717
OXFORD
Team Leader - Rebecca
Templars Square Shopping Centre, Cowley, OX4 3XH
actionpantry.ox@mercyinaction.org.uk
07425806606
Costs: Action Pantry members pay a small weekly sub for membership.
Collection: Members select and collect their food on a set day each week. Members must organise their own transportation. On occasion we can provide delivery under exceptional circumstances.
Our Partners
We are extremely grateful to all our Partners, whose support enables our Action Pantries to provide for so many.
FareShare is an organisation which helps to bridge the gap between food producers, supermarkets and landfill to ensure surplus fresh food is not wasted, but distributed via charities, schools and community groups.
St John’s Foundation fund the essential core costs of Action Pantry, and we are extremely grateful for their support.
Wooden Spoon Charity provided Action Pantry with a generous grant in 2023 to source additional food for the Pantry.
The Oxford Food Hub is the centre of surplus food redistribution in Oxfordshire, rescuing surplus food from wholesalers, supermarkets, restaurants and more, and redistributing it to charities and community organisations across Oxfordshire.
SOFEA work to reduce the immediate effects of disadvantage by relieving food insecurity and have an environmental impact through reducing food waste.