Eagle-eyed readers of Private Eye may have spotted a reference to the Isle of Wight last week.
The Food Poverty article explained that a Community Pantry in Ventnor has been forced to purchase food from a specific supplier, which works out much more expensive than can be sourced locally, meaning less food going to those that need it the most.
“The £208m food box rip-off”
The company in question are Bidfood, a UK foodservice wholesaler and distributor. They hit the headlines two years ago when the New Statesman ran an article headlined, “The £208m food box rip-off”.
The company had a contract to supply food boxes to vulnerable people shielding during the pandemic, but the publication’s investigation found a box of food that would have cost £26 in the supermarket, was actually being marked up to £44 by Bidfood.
Pantry could buy up to three times more food
Fast forward two years and Private Eye reveal that Hampshire and the Isle of Wight councils are both using government hardship funds (tax payers’ money) to contract with Bidfood to supply food to community pantries – forcing the local groups to spend the money with them, not locally.
Ventnor Community Pantry, which has around 200 members and was awarded just under £10,000, say that if they were given the freedom to source goods locally, they’d be able to buy up to three times more food.
Milford: We just want to make sure we spend every penny of the taxpayers’ money wisely
Joyce Milford, who is a Trustee at the Ventnor Community Pantry, told News OnTheWight,
“Ventnor Community Pantry at Baby Box is a grass roots, volunteer led, organisation.
“We want to play our part in helping our community get through the tough times that are already here for so many local people and just on the horizon for so many more.
“We have always worked well with the Isle of Wight Council and just want to make sure we spend every penny of the taxpayers’ money wisely.”
Questions to Cllr Debbie Andre
Last week News OnTheWight put a number of questions to the Isle of Wight Cabinet and Alliance Group member, Debbie Andre, as the IW Community Pantries are within her portfolio. She didn’t reply, instead just bumped them over to the IWC press office, who we’re still awaiting a response from. We’ll update once we hear back.
The questions asked were:
- Were you aware of IWC’s decision to use Bidfood to supply food for the IW Pantries?
- Was IWC given a choice or did they have to use Bidfood to supply food for the IW Pantries?
- Could the money have been given to those running the Pantries, so they could have sourced the food from local suppliers, rather than having to use Bidfood?
- When did you become aware of the controversy of Bidfood overcharging (With the New Statesman investigation reporting a 69 percent mark-up) for food boxes for clinically vulnerable people during the Pandemic? Or that the boxes supplied have been criticised as being of ‘poor nutrition’?
- Are you confident that the food that Bidfood supplies to the IW Pantries gives the highest amount of nutrition to pound spent ratio possible?
