HSF projects - work so far

What was on offer?

Pensioners already supported by Age UK or those requesting support were provided with hygiene packs to assist with essential items such as incontinence products, soap and wipes.

Who is eligible?

Island residents of pensionable age.

Contact Age UK by telephone: 01983 525282

What was on offer?

The Apex Church were awarded £1,470 to support residents living in Cowes and Northwood attending their warm space. The application was agreed to fund heated blankets and wheat bags which helped to keep residents warm whilst reducing their energy costs.

To contact the Apex Church call 01983 221222 or email hello@theapexchurch.org

What was on offer?

Aspire Ryde were awarded funding to provide various forms of support, primarily at their Dover Street premises in Ryde, but available to struggling households across the Island.

Support programs

Food Hampers
Fresh food hampers worth £50 were provided to Island families in need over the Christmas period. Each hamper contained fresh vegetables, proteins, and other essential items for a nutritious festive meal.

Community Lunch
Aspire Ryde’s community hub, based in Ryde originally offered hot meals and drinks on a twice weekly basis which was subsequently extended to four days per week and then to include an additional 10 meals each day. Family Cookery Aspire Ryde were originally awarded funding of £2,500 to launch their Cookery Together project. This initiative provided cookery classes at their Dover Street location, specifically aimed at supporting parents and children experiencing financial difficulties. The project was then extended to provide twice-weekly cookery sessions to groups of people showing them how to use conventional ovens, microwaves and pan hob cooking, the support was extended to offer slow cooker and air fryer cookery sessions which were held for six different families each week over a 12-week period. Families were able to develop their cookery skills and receive the appliance they were taught to cook with.

Bags of Warmth
200 bags of warmth, including energy-efficient heating solutions such as wearable blankets, hats, gloves, hot water bottles, thermos flasks, mugs, electric blankets, and heated throws to help reduce energy costs were on offer.

Wootton Community Lunch
A warm hub was established in Wootton, offering a weekly coffee morning with advice, information, hot drinks, and snacks. The Charity have also provided a fully funded community lunch, held at The Sloop in Wootton once per week.

Support for Rough Sleepers
Working alongside Two Saints, Aspire Ryde supported rough sleepers, sofa-surfers, and those at risk of homelessness with daily hot meals and drinks. They were also able to offer thermos flasks, camping cookers, warm clothes, washing powder, oral hygiene packs, shower facilities, and personal hygiene items.

Wheels2Work Scheme
Aspire Ryde were funded to enable them to hire electric bikes to members of the public needing transport to interviews, education, or work. Bikes could be hired on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

Winter Support
Over the winter period, Aspire Ryde distributed 400 precooked frozen meals to individuals who were struggling financially and unable to cook for themselves. They also provided 100 precooked frozen meals for families in need to take home.

Baby Food Preparation Sessions
Aspire Ryde held 10 sessions at their Dover Street premises teaching parents of babies being weaned how to make their own baby food, using blenders and common kitchen tools. The fresh food helped babies to develop the muscles in their mouth used for speaking, as well as teaching them new textures and flavours, and had nutritional benefit. Encouraging children to eat the same foods as the rest of the family also helps with budgeting costs.

Transport to the Community Lunches
Aspire Ryde received £4,000 to implement a transport scheme. This scheme provided financially insecure households with transportation from their rural communities around Ryde to Dover Street twice a week, enabling them to attend a two-course community lunch before taking them home.

Contact Aspire Ryde by telephone: 01983 716020 or via email at reception@aspire.org.uk

What was on offer?

Baby Box, an Island charity providing items from maternity wear through to childhood received funding to assist residents across the Island who are struggling with the cost of items such as baby formula, baby food, nappies, changing mats and nursery furniture.  Clothing for children is also available at no cost.

Contact Baby Box by email: babyboxiow@gmail.com

What was on offer?

Funding to enable breakfast essentials was awarded to Breakfast in the Bay to allow them to continue their supply of breakfast cereals to schools in The Bay area for pupils facing financial hardship. During school holidays, food packages were distributed to these pupils. This support was available to residents of Sandown, Shanklin, and Ventnor.

Contact Breakfast in the Bay at breakfastinthebayiow@gmail.com

What was on offer?

A series of cookery sessions were held at the church hall in The Apex Church, Cowes, teaching residents how to cook on a budget. Ingredients, recipe cards and induction hobs were provided to participants.

Contact Bridges by email: bridges@theapexchurch.org or call 07859 365586

What was on offer?

Support to unpaid carers on the Island was available through the IW Carers charity to support with essential clothing items, travel, medical equipment promoting independence and kitchen appliances that help to reduce energy costs.

Contact IW Carers on 01983 533173 or info@carersiw.org.uk

What was on offer?

Community Rail Partnership were funded to provide a free hot meal to those in need that attended the Gaslight Café at Sandown Railway Station, alongside delivering weekly food hampers to those in need through their Food on the Move project. 

This initiative has supported around 105 households each week with essential food and connected them to the broader network of support organisations.

The Gaslight Café is now temporary closed but those in need of food parcels can use the details below to request support.

Contact Food on the Move by text, starting your text with Food on the Move and sending it to 07595 670101

What was on offer?

Residents in East Cowes that were struggling financially have been able to apply for support with food parcels, small kitchen appliances, clothes, shoes, and heat-retaining products such as fleece blankets and draught excluders. Women of menstrual age could also request assistance with sanitary and hygiene packs.   

Additionally, Community Spirited launched a bereavement support group to help those who are bereaved, to support them in becoming self-sufficient and reduce their cost of living.

Community Spirited have also run cookery demonstrations showing how to use various kitchen equipment to make nutritious meals with fresh fruits and vegetables at home. Attendees received a soup and smoothie maker or air fryer (dependent on the demonstration)

Contact Community Spirited by telephone: 01983 296592

What was on offer?

The town council was awarded funding to provide crisis food vouchers to residents living in Cowes via application.

Contact Cowes Town Council by telephone: 01983 209022

What was on offer?

Citizens Advice received a grant of £18,973.50 to launch their warm space and community kitchen at their premises in South Street, Newport. Cookery sessions were held where participants used and received energy-efficient appliances, ingredients and recipe cards.

Additionally, Citizens Advice offered soup, hot beverages, and access to their advice and budgeting services to help households reduce daily expenses.

For more information contact 01983 684684

What was on offer?

Daisy Chains have been funded to assist financially insecure families with pre-term infants or children with long-term or life-threatening illnesses or disabilities by covering the cost of ferry travel to the mainland, provided they were not eligible for any NHS free travel schemes.

The charity also received funding to supply these families with air-fryers, enabling them to prepare quick, healthy meals after returning from hospital visits.

In addition, they provided Christmas hampers containing essential food items, hats, scarves, and fluffy socks to the families they supported.

Contact Daisy Chains by telephone: 07801 424645

What was on offer?

The school purchased weather appropriate clothing such as wellington boots and warm coats to children who arrived at school without these items.   The items were kept in school to be used throughout the school day which also allows them to be used for younger pupils in future years.

Contact Dover Park Primary School by email: office@doverparkpri.iow.sch.uk

What was on offer?

The Footprint Trust were awarded funding towards the extension of their core work to offer various forms of support to financially vulnerable and at-risk residents across the Island. The funding has helped them to provide energy-reduction guidance through phone consultations, in-person meetings, and home visits, also assisting residents with small energy-efficient white goods, thermal curtains and draught excluders, and assistance with heating and hot water, including boiler repairs.

Additionally, the Footprint Trust received funding for utility vouchers to residents using pre-payment meters and pre-paid cards to those with utility accounts.

They have also conducted air-fryer demonstrations to teach residents how to cook budget-friendly meals using energy-saving appliances, sometimes working in partnership with other Island organisations.

Call 01983 822282 or email info@footprint-trust.co.uk

What was on offer?

The primary school, located in Freshwater, successfully applied for £400.84 to provide warm coats and wellington boots to 11 children they identified as in need.  Each child received both a coat and wellington boots.

The school can be contacted on 01983 760345

What was on offer?

The Friends Hotel in Sandown was chosen to provide temporary accommodation to several families that found themselves homeless.  The hotel successfully applied for funding to provide a Christmas dinner to those who were placed at the hotel over the Christmas period.

Contact Friends Hotel on 01983 403429

What was on offer

Green IOW ran cookery lessons to advise Island residents on how to cook on a budget, providing them with small kitchen appliances such as an air fryer, so they could continue what they learnt at home.

Drop-in advice clinics were run in community spaces, and home visits were available to discuss energy saving techniques to help reduce household utility costs.

Contact Green IOW by telephone: 07725 999487

What was on offer?

Financial support was provided for families who home educate their children. This included cookery sessions focused on healthy, affordable meals, the provision of fruit and vegetables for use at home, and a ‘wonder bag’ cooking utensil. A swap-shop was also set up for families to swap clothes and shoes.

The IW Learning Zone also received £6,000 to distribute weekly hampers of fresh fruit and vegetables to around 80 households.  They received a further £4,000 to provide warm coats, wellington boots, hats, and gloves to financially vulnerable households for their children, upon application. These items are loaned to families until the child outgrows them, at which point they are returned to the charity for use by another child.

Contact IW Learning Zone by email: Iwlearningzone@outlook.com

What was on offer?

The Homeless Prevention team at the Isle of Wight Council received £350 to purchase warm clothing for Island residents sleeping rough or those placed at Howard House in Newport. The gifts were handed out as a small Christmas present on Christmas Eve.

To contact the Homeless Prevention team please call 01983 823040

What was on offer?

Multiple use community pantry vouchers were provided to students in receipt of Free College Meals.

The Isle of Wight College also used a £1,280 grant to support these students with hygiene packs. These packs included items such as washing-up liquid, washing powder, and sun cream, as well as hygiene basics.

Contact Isle of Wight College by telephone: 01983 526631

What was on offer?

The Isle of Wight Youth Trust were awarded a £2,000 grant to assist around 100 young people and their families with hygiene and sanitary products.

Contact the IW Youth Trust on 01983 529569

What was on offer?

Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council were awarded funding for crisis supermarket vouchers.  An eligibility criteria based on household circumstances was used.

Contact Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council by email: clerk@newportwight.org.uk

What was on offer?

Multiple grants have been awarded to the Church for them to both establish and expand support to the community.

Kindness Cupboard
Those in crisis were able to seek support with food cupboard essentials.

Food Hampers
Food Hampers were prepared and available for those in financial need to collect. 

Hygiene packs
Hygiene packs were made available at the Church for financially vulnerable residents to collect. 

Warm clothing
The church was awarded funding to provide warm clothing to residents unable to afford these items themselves.

Warm space
Funding was provided for the church to continue their warm space provision, offering hot drinks and snacks to attendees.

Hot meals
Residents unable to afford to feed themselves, were able to attend the church and receive a free hot meal for themselves and their family members.

Living on the Veg
Through the funding received, the church was able to launch its Living on the Veg project with the neighbouring Catholic Church, growing fruit and vegetables, nurtured and tendered to by volunteers which can then be offered for free to the community. 

Contact Newport Congregational Church by telephone: 07300 329610

What was on offer?

Northwood Parish Council have established a weekly warm space at the Parish Hall in Northwood, which has received funding for items such as supermarket vouchers, heated throws, draught excluders and cookery demonstrations that teach residents how to make cheap nutritious meals from basic ingredients (e.g. numerous sausage recipes).

To contact Northwood Parish Council email clerk@northwoodparishcouncil.org

What was on offer:

The school successfully applied for funding to provide breakfast to children of financially vulnerable households not in receipt of Pupil Premium, and to offer a selection of winter coats, air fryers, and £25 community pantry vouchers.

Contact Oakfield CE Primary School by telephone: 01983 563732

What was on offer?

Osel is an Island Charity that supports adults with learning difficulties. They successfully applied for a £10,677 grant to assist 38 financially vulnerable residents they support by teaching them cookery skills and providing warm clothing and weather-appropriate items.

Contact OSEL on 01983 520128.

What was on offer?

Ryde Town Council received funding which enabled them to provide supermarket vouchers to eligible residents in Ryde via an application process.

Contact Ryde Town Council by telephone: 01983 811105

What was on offer?

Through grant funding from the DWP Household Support Fund, Sandown Town Council supported three warm spaces across The Bay area with funding for food and refreshments to financially vulnerable residents attending their provisions. 

Contact Sandown Town Council by telephone: 01983 408287

What was on offer?

Sensory Space CIC used their grant funding for projects which were designed to assist around 100 financially vulnerable families with disabled children they work with. Help included food and hygiene hampers and £40 vouchers for clothing retailers that cater for children with disabilities.

Contact Sensory Space by telephone: 07773 570505

What was on offer?

Working in partnership with both Sovereign Network Group (SNG) Housing Association and the Footprint Trust, Southern Housing were able to run cookery demonstration for theirs and SNG’s tenants, which demonstrated how to cook on a budget by using energy efficient air-fryers.  Attendees received an air fryer, a £100.00 fresh food hamper including meats, dairy, and fresh fruit and vegetables from Briddlesford Farm, and energy-reduction advice during the session.

Contact Southern Housing on 01983 539081

What was on offer?

SNG supported residents with a 6-week community pantry voucher using a grant from the DWP Household Support Fund.  Additionally, they have provided energy-saving packs containing window film, draught excluders, and low-energy lightbulbs.  These packs were provided alongside advice from their expert Energy Outreach Project Officers (not funded by the grant). Some SNG tenant households also received warm packs, including hot water bottles and thermal socks.

More recently, SNG successfully applied for a grant of £8,505 to supply 3-month Venner nutrition box subscriptions to 10 financially vulnerable households. They also used this funding to run a 13-week food education programme for 20 young people living in supported accommodation. This programme taught essential cooking skills, healthy choices, budgeting, and cost-effective shopping skills. Participants who attended at least 5 sessions received a kitchen starter kit ready for their move to independent living.

Contact Sovereign Network Group by telephone: 0300 500 0926

What was on offer?

A community fridge was established within the village Community Centre to help reduce food waste in the area. Equipment such as a fridge and freezer, along with shelving was funding. The centre also used funding to expand their warm space coffee afternoons so they could provide light lunches in addition to the warm drinks.

Contact St Helens Community Centre at info@sthelenscc.org.uk

What was on offer?

Established through the Young Enterprise scheme, a small group of innovative Isle of Wight College students set up a Community Interest Company to support college students eligible for Free College Meals, attending college on a full-time basis.  Their support was to provide these students with a nutritionally balanced meal when they returned home after college.    On approach to the Partnerships and Support Services team, they successfully secured funding through the DWP Household Support Fund to deliver sufficient meals for three-evenings each week for a school term.     

The financial support has since been extended.

Contact the SupperReady team by email: team@supperready.com

What was on offer?

After securing funding through the DWP Household Support Fund, the team at SWAY opened applications for families with children aged 11 to 18 years old to participate in online family cookery sessions.    Dubbed the Box Project, the main ingredients of a recipe were delivered to these households and an online cookery lesson held, for the young people, siblings and parents, encouraging both healthy eating and family connexions.

Contact SWAY by telephone: swayoffice1@gmail.com

What was on offer?

The Charity have been funded over several grant rounds, through which they have provided an array of support including the support of 150 rough sleepers across the Island with items such as a tent, sleeping bag, bus tickets, launderette tokens, a mobile phone, food grab bags, ID applications, and items to help if emergency accommodation was located.

They have also been funded to provide essential household items to around 25 Island residents who have transitioned back into independent living accommodation following a period of homelessness. The packs included a bed, bedding, a microwave, cutlery, and crockery among other essential household items.

They have also been able to support those they work with through the provision of  Community Pantry vouchers, to cover the £5 charge of using a pantry / larder.

Contact Two Saints by telephone: 07725 413576

What was on offer?

Vectis Housing Association applied for £4,600 to supply warm packs to 20 of their tenants. Packs consisted of items such as hot water bottles, blankets, hats, gloves, and seasonal clothing.

They have also held a cookery demonstration for 10 of their tenant households, through partnership working with The Footprint Trust. Residents were shown how to cook on a budget using an air fryer, which was then gifted to them for continued use at home.  Through their own funding pot, they provided attendees with a £50 supermarket voucher for the ingredients.

A further 20 households were supported with Community Pantry vouchers, helping to reduce the pressure on their weekly shopping cost.

Contact Vectis Housing Association on 01983 525985

What was on offer?

Ventnor Community Playgroup received a £920 grant through which they were able to provide fresh fruit and vegetable snacks to child of households struggling financially.  Fresh food parcels were also made available to households unable to afford these items themselves.

Contact the playgroup on 01983 853775

What was on offer?

Ventnor Foodbank is an independent foodbank, and is open to any Island resident able to attend their premises. 

Over the last three years, a number of grants have been provided to the Charity to assist them in the purchase of food, hygiene, and sanitary products to households across the Island who are struggling financially.  

Contact Ventnor Foodbank by telephone: 07862 247694

What was on offer?

Ventnor Town Council have successfully applied for a number of grants to help support their community. 

Supermarket vouchers
Local residents experiencing financial difficulties were able to apply to the town council for a £50 supermarket voucher.

Wellbeing Café
Funding has been used to provide a 2-course hot meal to those who attended the group, who were also able to assist in the planning of the meals.

Warm Packs
Items such as blankets, hot water bottles, heated throws, adults’ and children’s hoodie blankets, hats, gloves, scarves, socks, and slippers as well as second hand coats, shoes, and boots were provided to local residents in need. 

Warm Space
St. Catherine’s Church opens its doors as a warm space on a Thursday, which provides financially struggling members of the community with a safe communal space for socialising and companionship.  Food and drinks for these sessions were funded through the DWP Household Support Fund.

Contact Ventnor Town Council by telephone: 07932 890679

What was on offer?

Meal bags, toiletries and sanitary items have been made available to adult learners attending courses at Westridge Community Learning Centre who are unable to afford these items for themselves.   Community Pantry vouchers have also been made available on request, all thanks to funding from the DWP Household Support Fund.

Contact Westridge Adult learning by telephone: 01983 817280

What was on offer?

Funding granted to the West Wight Timebank was utilised for weekly food parcels, to those in financial need.  The majority of food in these parcels was food rescued from unnecessary wastage. Hygiene packs were also available on a monthly basis. Each family receiving support was identified through local partnership organisations.

Contact West Wight Timebank by telephone on: 07872 304294

Wroxall Parish Council received £640 to provide heated throws to 20 residents living in the village. Residents on a low household income or those previously eligible for the Winter Fuel Allowance were able to contact the Parish Council to apply for assistance.

In previous rounds of funding, households in the community were provided with  food, hygiene, and warm items made into hampers dependent on the resident’s individual need.

Contact Wroxall Parish Council Form via their website: Contact | Wroxall Parish Council

What was on offer?

This voluntary group used their grant of £1,000 to buy wool to further their supply of blankets and warm items for residents at an Island care home, along with the purchase food for their warm space in Wroxall.

Contact Wroxall Woolies by telephone: 01983 854219

What was on offer?

Grant awarded by the DWP Household Support Fund has enabled Wroxall Foodbank to top-up their supplies at Wroxall Community Centre. This support allows them to continue helping villagers in crisis who need food.

Contact Wroxall Food Bank by telephone: 07443 569577

What was on offer?

YMCA at Winchester House, Shanklin have been running weekly cookery sessions teaching their residents how to budget, shop independently, and cook simple, healthy meals. The project aimed to provide these young people with skills they could use when transitioning to independent living, helping both themselves and their children.

There were also new home packs available for those moving into independent living which included a duvet, pillows, bedding, and baby toiletries.

Contact YMCA by telephone: 01983 862441

What was on offer?

The You Trust have received several grants since the inception of the DWP Household Support Fund which have helped them to support residents they work with. 

Support packs including items such as hygiene and cleaning products, as well as weather-appropriate items were available to those needing support from the Charity as they flee domestic violence, whist packs of essential items such as crockery, cutlery, saucepans, bedding etc. were provided to those moving into their own accommodation. 

Multi-use Community Pantry vouchers were also available to those needing support with the cost of food.

Contact the You Trust on enquiries@theyoutrust.org.uk