ESF+ Food Support

ESF+ Food and Basic Material Support is designed to support Member States in addressing the basic needs of the most deprived people in our community. It is funded by European Social Fund (ESF+) under the Employment, Inclusion, Skills and Training Programme. In Ireland, the specific objective of addressing material deprivation through food and basic material assistance is managed by the Department of Social Protection.
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This support is for people without access to income or living in very poor circumstances.
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The support will work with not-for-profit organisations to provide food and basic material assistance.
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FoodCloud previously worked as the partner organisation for the Department of Social Protection in the FEAD Programme (Fund for European Aid to the most Deprived, the predecessor to the ESF+ Food Support programme).

ESF+ Food and Basic Material Support will help people take their first steps out of poverty and social exclusion by addressing some of their most basic needs. 
The focus of the fund will be on those on the margins of society and in need of essential supports.
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Effectively, the support will target:

• homeless persons including long-term rough sleepers
• children in low income/work intensity households
• victims of domestic violence in refuges and shelters
• persons suffering or recovering from addictions
• certain members of the Roma and Traveller communities
• vulnerable persons transitioning to independent living from emergency accommodation, institutionalised care settings or places of detention
• any person without income, accommodation or means not otherwise defined above

FoodCloud is the Department of Social Protection partner organisation for the nationwide availability of ESF+ Food Support in Ireland.
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Following initial consultation with the charitable sector, the Department of Social Protection (DSP) compiled the product list for the programme.
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FoodCloud is responsible for the procurement, storage and arranging charity collection of ESF+ Food Support products for this programme.
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The food items consist of basic, non-perishable foods which are easy to transport and store.
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The product list includes rice, pasta and pasta sauce, soups (dried and canned), canned fish, jam, tea, coffee, sugar, canned vegetables and breakfast cereals.
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Charities who join the ESF+ Food Support programme will be given an allocation by the DSP based on, among other things, the number of individuals they support with food assistance. Charities then use this allocation to order the food they require from FoodCloud.

If you are interested in accessing or receiving other information on the programme, please email the DSP at smd@welfare.ie. More information is also available from the EU Funds website - www.eufunds.ie.

More information and a copy of the application form is available on the ESF+ Food Support website.

If you have any queries relating to the ESF+ Food Support Programme, you can email smd@foodcloud.ie or call 01 462 5362.