A COMMUNITY worker who pioneered mobile food hubs in West Devon said colleagues from across the country are copying her model.

Rachel Harrison-French’s innovative thinking has created a network of food hubs in Horrabridge, Tavistock and Princetown — the difference is that they are mobile and set up at different times on the same day.

This new idea enables the hubs to reach as many people as possible in sometimes isolated communities and maximises the use of donated food, making them more efficient in use of food the hub has to buy and reducing waste.

Rachel is consulted and visited regularly by food hub organisers accross the country wanting to know the secret behind her successful network reaching those in food need.

She said: ‘I set up Feeding Devon as an innovative food project with my mother to combat food insecurity across the county. Our focus is on a mobile service that provides affordable food to people aren’t in such dire need that they need the food bank, but are having problems stretching their budget to eat healthily and heat their homes.

‘Our priority is to alleviate the need for people to be forced to choose between eating and heating. We welcome people to become members and pay for a bag of food which will cost about half the shop price, if not less. We have to pay for food coming from the FareShare charity and try to cover our costs.’

The hubs support 100 households and about 600 people a day with an army of volunteers. Rachel said: ‘I have a fantastic lot of volunteers without which the food hub wouldn’t happen. I also couldn’t run the food hubs without the support of Fareshare South West and our main funder Feeding Britain.’

The Tavistock hub also supports people who use the food bank, those in emergency need: ‘We also point people in dire need to sources of help, such as a homeless man camping out, even in this freezing weather and another man, homeless for eight months. They need food and related help. For many we‘re also a source of company for isolated people.’

Rachel has long helped people’s general well-being: ‘I’m motivated by seeing people eat healthily and feel well, so we offer cheap fresh fuit and veg. I started Feeding Devon with my mother Stella West-Harling, who created the Ashburton Cookery School and who got the MBE, after supporting the Bovey Tracey food hub and a community larder in Sherford during the pandemic lockdown. That’s when I identified the need for food support and set up food hubs across Devon when the Defra funding ended.’

Rachel, who set up the Tavistock food project Totally Locally to encourage people to shop locally for food, said: ‘It used to be only people without jobs or other situations in food need, but recently that’s changed, now it’s families with parents in work who come to us. I’ve always had a passion for ensuring people have access to good quality fruit and veg and food in the community they live. I saw how badly in need people were during lockdown.’

A qualified primary school teacher, Rachel said: ‘But it’s not just about food, along with healthy food and eating well, I like to promote mental health, which where we can support with signposting to other agencies and organsiations.’

Partner and linked organisations include Tavi Helps and Devon and Cornwall Food Action, Tamar Energy Community and Devon Connect (Public Health Devon) support the food hubs in several ways. This helps includes training hub volunteers to recognise need of all sorts and knowing where to signpost users and giving advice to users. A new move in the New Year will be equipping volunteers with mental health first aid skills, while debt advice is also occasionally on hand for users.

The hub network is pleased to have newly secured a supply of food into the early New Year, when there is usually high demand.

In a new development, the hub has received a large number of bags of coal for home heating.

Rachel said: ‘There’s nothing better than seeing someone benefit from the hub, whether it’s from food or company. Although this is not a faith-based organisation, my faith is important to my work and helps my resilience to support others.’

The weekly hub also offers soup and drinks for a 50p donation at the pop-up cafe at King’s Church on Pixon Lane. Derek Perry, a chef, is the cafe cook and helped organise a Christmas party for children of hub users, complete with bags of gifts from generous donors. He said: ‘ I’m a recovering alcoholic and I do this to say thank you to the people of Tavistock who have supported me through my journey to not drinking. It’s so uplifting to see the children’s faces light up when they see their presents.’

Tavistock Refurbish and Tavistock Musical Theatre Company supported the party. The food hub can be emailed: info@feeding devon.org.uk