Organisations which support the most vulnerable and those facing hardship as a result of the coronavirus pandemic in North Yorkshire will receive extra funding to boost their efforts.
North Yorkshire County Council has allocated money towards hardship payments, food banks and financial advice as the county recovers from Covid-19.
The funding comes after the Government, through Defra’s Local Authorities Emergency Assistance Grant for Food and Essential Supplies, made a provision of £63m to be distributed to local authorities across the country to help those who are struggling to afford food and essentials following the Covid-19 crisis.
The County Council has been allocated £530,000 from this fund to aid food providers and supply, hardship payments, and benefits advice and support.
Twenty-four community organisations across the county have been granted extra money to help people and families access food and hot meals, totalling around £175,000.
They were able to apply for one-off grants of up to £10,000 to enable them to continue their food provisions for people struggling to feed themselves.
This includes food banks, hot meal delivery, community kitchens and community fridges.
Many of these organisations have been working tirelessly to support the community throughout lockdown and beyond, from delivering prescriptions and food to simply being a friendly face.
£80,000 has been granted to Citizens Advice Bureau North Yorkshire for increased support and financial advice, with the capacity to increase hours on their cross-county phone line if demand is demonstrated.
Funding has also been made available for people on low incomes through the provision of additional hardship payments from the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Fund.
Cllr David Chance, Executive Member for Stronger Communities, said:
This funding offers even more vital support for those people in our communities who have been hit hard by Covid-19.
Across the county, these services, working alongside our 23 community support organisations, have already been providing invaluable support to thousands of people and families since the start of the pandemic in March and this will enable them to go even further.
These people was fantastic as they helped me out