Family Action has been shortlisted for a prestigious Third Sector Award in recognition of its innovative Fuel Your Finances programme, which has helped families tackle the combined challenges of food insecurity, energy costs and financial hardship.
The charity has been named a finalist in the Best Service Delivery Innovation category at the Third Sector Awards, one of the voluntary sector’s most respected awards programmes. With hundreds of entries submitted each year, reaching the shortlist is a significant achievement.
The nomination recognises the Fuel Your Finances project, an innovative extension of Family Action’s FOOD Clubs, which has been funded by Cadent. Developed in response to the cost-of-living crisis, the programme was created after staff noticed that many families were no longer just struggling to afford food, they were also struggling to afford the energy needed to cook it.
In response, Family Action developed a holistic programme bringing together affordable food, activities focusing on energy safety, energy efficiency and income maximisation, as well as workshops to support people to use slow cookers effectively to prepare low cost healthy meals.
This will help us save a lot of money on our bills and live a healthier lifestyle.
Piloted in Mansfield and London, the programme was tailored to meet the needs of local people from different backgrounds and facing myriad challenges, including but not limited to unemployment, social isolation, mental and physical health, and ESOL.
Sessions were designed to be welcoming, informal, interactive and inclusive – and fun! Culturally appropriate recipes, translated materials, visual learning resources and interactive family friendly activities were all used to remove barriers to participation. And with Cadent’s support 500 slow cookers and Carbon Monoxide alarms were also distributed to local families, as well as heated blankets, slow cooker recipe books, heated vest, hats and gloves.
Family Action built specialist expertise among the frontline team, with staff taking training with National Energy Action, enabling them to provide practical support around energy safety and energy efficiency. Feedback from participants show significant improvements in learners’ knowledge, confidence and practical skills. Families reported, for instance, increased knowledge and confidence around energy efficiency, using slow cookers, the dangers of Carbon Monoxide, healthy eating, and saving money.
This course gave me lots of knowledge about energy saving, money saving and how to eat healthy food.
Louise Reilly, Operational Manager at Family Action, said:
We’re absolutely delighted that Fuel Your Finances has been recognised by the Third Sector Awards judges. The programme was developed in direct response to what families were telling us they needed during the cost-of-living crisis. Our teams could see that FOOD Club members were struggling with both the rising cost of food and energy – they were increasingly linked – and that families needed support that reflected the reality of the challenges they were facing.
By building on the trusted relationships already established through our FOOD Clubs, we’ve been able to provide practical, accessible support that helps families save money, stay safe and build confidence. We’re incredibly proud of the impact the programme has had and grateful to everyone who helped make it possible.
Lucy Nembaware, Safeguarding and Community Partnership Lead at Cadent, said:
Knowledge doesn’t always land through lectures or long explanations. Often, the most powerful learning happens when people are having fun, feeling involved, and connecting with ideas in a way that feels natural. When individuals are engaged, they’re far more open to taking in tips that can genuinely shift their financial habits.
The creativity of the Family Action delivery team has really shone through as a key enabling tool for supporting the community and an amazing resource that can be shared and adapted to suit various audiences across the board.
Throughout the partnership Family Action have shown that they are an organisation that values collaboration, learning and holistic approaches to alleviating poverty which has added great value to the project
The winners of the Third Sector Awards will be announced later this year.
My quarterly electric bill went down by about £100, only because I was more aware of the cost of using the appliances.
