Case Study
Khepera
Funding to increase the gleaning capacity of Khepera, collecting surplus food from farms to distribute to various local communities
(Above) Photo Credit: Khepera
To build capacity, Khepera employed a young project coordinator who had been identified through the Green Futures scheme, a food and farming internship programme in Buckinghamshire supported by the RF.
Fund and priority area: Strategic Fund – Environment: Access to healthy food
Who – Khepera aims to improve community living and wellbeing by engaging with a wide variety of communities and organisations in and around High Wycombe. It provides workshops, training and events focussing on healthy food and sustainable production.
What
A three year grant of £30,000 was awarded in 2023, to increase the capacity of the organisation’s gleaning work.
To date, since receiving the funding, the project has enabled:
- The provision of fresh produce to over 10,000 people in Bucks, (66,000 meals) establishing a distribution network of emergency food providers.
- An increase in awareness of sustainable food issues and capacity building through corporate volunteering with Bucks New Uni and local schools.
- Due to demand for produce, food is also being grown to educate and feed the local community through a newly established allotment.
(Above) Photo Credit: Khepera
Learning
- Standard operating procedure has been developed in ensure that the gleaning model can be scaled up, however, there still needs to be the personal touch and relationships built.
- The demand for surplus food continues to rise; this year, more working families are receiving the gleaned food, illustrating the scale of food insecurity in the county.
