New Rural Food Hub Opens in Leicestershire Village to Assist Residents

A new rural food hub has commenced operations in a Leicestershire village, aiming to assist individuals facing difficulties with the cost of living. This new initiative, located in Asfordby, represents the ninth hub established by Melton Borough Council within its Rural Food Hub Network. This hub will operate weekly on Wednesdays from 13:00 GMT to 14:00 at Bradgate Flats, offering services to all residents requiring financial assistance. The council reported that since its launch in February, the Rural Food Hub Network has processed over 76 requests for food and other support from rural households throughout the borough. A spokesperson for the council stated: “Our hubs are located in areas where we have seen a demand for support for households, and we are really grateful to our teams and volunteers who have created and continue to support the hubs, leading to us expanding our offer in terms of the services that can be offered and the geographical reach of our network of hubs across our rural borough.” Residents can gain access to these hubs by contacting the council’s community support hub to request a voucher. The spokesperson further explained: “In the first instance, the hubs were similar to food banks, enabling residents experiencing financial hardship in our rural areas to access food parcels, provided by Leicester South Food Bank, in times of need.” They continued: “For residents in our rural areas, being able to access a town centre-based foodbank is not always possible, and we wanted to reduce the risk of inequity in being able to support households in need.” The council indicates that the hubs have evolved since their inception, now aiming to offer a customized support approach in addition to distributing food parcels.