Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
13 April 2022
Post No. 243
The Week’s Contents
• Holiday with Relief – In Focus for Spring 2022 Issue: Energy and Food during Holiday
• Protection Key Note 2: Protection from Rising Prices of Food
• Help CENFACS Fight Poverty Induced by the Cost-of-Living Crisis with You this Easter
… And much more!
Key Messages
• Holiday with Relief – In Focus for Spring 2022 Issue: Energy and Food during Holiday
The Spring 2022 Issue our ICDP (individual Capacity Development Programme) Resource entitled as ‘Holiday with Relief’ is out now.
This year, ‘Holiday with Relief’ provides wealthy advice, tips and hints linked to energy and food during holiday. Within this wealth of information contained in this Issue, there are tips and hints that can be used to tackle energy poverty and food poverty.
These tips and hints are meant to support those of our users and non-users who are struggling to make energy and food ends meet during holiday (that is; Easter holiday, work or school holiday and long Summer holiday).
This resource is packed with Spring-relieving ideas about how to reduce both energy and food poverty while being on holiday. Although the contents of this year’s Holiday with Relief will be for holiday, they can be used at any other time of the year.
Under the Main Development section of this post, we have provided the summaries about the key advice, tips and hints. To enquire about the full 2022 Issue of Holiday with Relief, please contact CENFACS.
• Week Beginning Monday 11/04/2022, Protection Key Note 2: Protection from Rising Real Prices of Food
To deal with protection from rising real prices of food, it is better to briefly explain food inflation and its measure, what we mean by protection against rising food prices and what CENFACS can do to support the community in its efforts to fighting food inflation. Let us look at these three items.
• • What is food inflation and how do we measure the rise in food price?
Economically speaking, food inflation is a general sustained rise in the level of food price. There are many metrics to measure the rise in food price. However, in the context of this Protection Key Note 2, we are going to refer to the metrics of inflation-adjusted food price index. What is this index?
• • • Inflation-adjusted food price index
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (1) provides its own index, which is called FAO Food Price Index (FFPI). The FFPI is defined as
“A measure of the monthly change in international prices of basket of food commodities. It consists of the average of five commodity group price indices weighted by the average export shares of each of the groups over [a period, for example] 2014-2016”.
Likewise, the World Economic Forum (2) states that
“The Food Price Index is designed to capture the combined outcome of changes in a range of food commodities, including vegetable, oils, cereals, meat and sugar; and compare them month to month”.
According to this World Economic Forum (op. cit.), the index needs to be adjusted for inflation. When prices are adjusted for inflation, they are real.
So, in the context of this Protection Key Note 2, we will be interested in real prices which show the real impact or effects of rising food prices on income. From this perspective, protection will be from rising real prices of food.
• • What do we mean by protection from rising food prices?
It is about shielding people from hikes in food prices. People can be protected from rising food prices in many ways.
Assessing the world food situation via its Food Price Index, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (3) argues that
“The FAO Food Price Index [FFPI] averaged 159.3 points in March 2022, up 17.9 points [12.6 percent] from February, making a giant leap to a new highest level since its inception in 1990. The latest increase reflects new all-time highs for vegetable oils, and meat sub-indices while those of sugar and dairy products also rose significantly”.
As said above, the FAO Food Price Index is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities.
In the context of this Note 2, the interest is more on how CENFACS can work with the community to find ways of reducing the impacts of rising food prices and also to stop that these impacts lead to food poverty and poorness.
• • Ways in which CENFACS can work with the community to protect it from food inflation
CENFACS does not replace those who have the power to cut food prices and or provide financial support to its members of community who could become food poor or needy because of hikes in food prices. However, there are handy ways in which CENFACS can work together with users to weaken the impact of food inflation.
In particular, CENFACS can work with them on the following matters:
∝ Food budget adjusted for inflation
∝ Comparison and contrasting of food real prices and stores
∝ Reduction of food waste at home and away
∝ Review of food spending and other expenses within household budgets
∝ Encouraging them to shop farmers’ markets
∝ Looking for charitable food support (e.g. food banks, food vouchers, etc.) for the food poor
∝ Keeping them aware of environmentally damaging food products
∝ Sharing with them tips and hints about ways of cutting food bills
Etc.
All these ways of working with the community will help to protect them against food inflation. This is because the more informed they are, the more likely they will find and practise the tools, tips and hints they need in order to overcome food inflation.
It is all about working with them to improve the way in which they manage their income and life in order to overcome future upheavals of the financial and real economic markets, which have recently been impregnated with stories of rising food and energy prices.
The above is our Protection Key Note 2. For any further details about Protection from Rising Prices of Food and CENFACS’ Month of Protection, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
• Help CENFACS Fight Poverty Induced by the Cost-of-Living Crisis with You this Easter
You can donate or pledge or make a gift aid declaration to help CENFACS’ in its Charitable Response to the Cost-of-Living Crisis (CRCLC).
CRCLC is supporters’ contribution via CENFACS to the current effort to fight the cost-of-living crisis.
Any of the donations, pledges and gifts given will help those impacted by the cost-of-living crisis.
To support, just contact CENFACS by quoting or asking the Charitable Response to the Cost-of-Living Crisis (CRCLC).
Thank you!
Extra Messages
• E-discussion on Reduce For Quick Sale (RFQS) Items and Food Poverty Reduction
RFQS are those items or products past their best goods found in the bargain bins placed discretely around stores. Many consumers or shoppers, especially those on low income brackets, who are goods price hunters, will look for RFQS to make their consumption ends meet.
If you are one of the RFQS hunters living on a tiny budget have the opportunity to buy these bargain goods; RFQS can make a great deal by helping you to reduce poverty. And if you are food poor or in need of food, RFQS can assist you to reduce food poverty or at least to save money on your food purchase.
For those who had this experience on how RFQS has helped them to reduce consumption poverty or save on food purchase, they can join our e-discussion to exchange their views with others.
To e-discuss your RFQS experience, please contact CENFACS.
• CENFACS’ Charity e-Store during Easter Giving Season
CENFACS e-Store is opened for your Easter goods donations and goods purchases.
At this time, many people have been affected by the cost of living crisis mostly driven by the hikes in prices of basic life-sustaining needs (e.g., energy, food, transport, housing, council tax, phone, etc.).
The impacted of the cost of living crisis needs help and support as prices and bills have astronomically gone up while incomes are still the same for many of those living in poverty.
Every season or every month is an opportunity to do something against poverty and hardships. This April too is a good and great month of the year to do it.
You can donate or recycle your unwanted and unneeded goods to CENFACS’ Charity e-Store, the shop built to help relieve poverty and hardships.
You can as well buy second hand goods and bargain priced new items and much more.
CENFACS’ Charity e-Store needs your support for SHOPPING and GOODS DONATIONS.
You can do something different this Season of Goods Donations by SHOPPING or DONATING GOODS at CENFACS Charity e-Store.
You can DONATE or SHOP or do both:
√ DONATE unwanted Easter GOODS, GIFTS and PRODUCTS to CENFACS Charity e-Store this April and Spring.
√ SHOP at CENFACS Charity e-Store to support good and deserving causes of poverty relief this April and Spring.
Your SHOPPING and or GOODS DONATIONS will help to the Upkeep of the Nature and to reduce poverty and hardships brought by the cost of living crisis.
This is what the Season of Giving is all about.
Please do not hesitate to donate goods or purchase what is available at CENFACS e-Store.
Many lives have been threatened and destroyed by the cost of living crisis.
We need help to help them come out poverty and hardships caused by the cost of living crisis.
To donate or purchase goods, please go to: http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/
• Review of Post-coronavirus Poverty Reduction Restructuring and Post-exit People’s Development Projects (“Post-projects”)
In the light of the cost-of-living crisis, we are reviewing the Post-coronavirus Poverty Reduction Restructuring and Post-exit People’s Development Projects, which we set up one year ago. The review is meant to integrate this cost. The rise in the prices of energy, food, water, transport and other utilities and services has led to inflation.
Because of the cost-of-living crisis, the series of activities, proposals, plans, processes and tasks under Post-coronavirus Poverty Reduction Restructuring and Post-exit People’s Development Projects have to be adjusted to the current and near-future cost of living or inflation. These projects cannot continue to be applied without considering this cost or inflation.
For those who would like to learn more about the consideration of the cost-of-living crisis or inflation within the “Post Projects” or just to enquire, they are free to contact CENFACS.
Réponse de bienfaisance à la crise du coût de la vie
Aidez le CENFACS à lutter contre la pauvreté induite par la crise du coût de la vie pendant cette période de Pâques.
Vous pouvez faire un don, une promesse de don ou faire une déclaration d’aide aux dons pour aider le CENFACS dans sa Réponse de bienfaisance à la crise du coût de la vie (RBCCV).
La RBCCV est la contribution des sympathisants à travers le CENFACS à l’effort actuel de lutte contre la crise du coût de la vie.
Tous les dons, promesses de dons et dons donnés aideront les personnes touchées par la crise du coût de la vie.
Pour aider ou donner votre aide, il suffit de communiquer avec le CENFACS en citant ou en se référant à notre Réponse de bienfaisance à la crise du coût de la vie (RBCCV).
Merci!
Main Development
• Holiday with Relief –
In Focus for Spring 2022 Issue: Energy and Food during Holiday
Looking for holiday with relief that gives you a control of your energy and the feeling of good food? You have come to the right place as the following contents, tips and hints highlight it:
∝ What is Holiday with Relief?
∝ What is the focus for this year’s HwR?
∝ For whom this resource is designed
∝ What is energy? What is food?
∝ What sort of food and energy do we need during holiday?
∝ Where to find cheap good foods and energy
∝ Reduction of food poverty and energy poverty during holiday
∝ Looking for help and support about Energy and Food during Holiday.
• • Content Summaries, Tips and Hints about Spring 2022 Holiday with Relief
• • • What is Holiday with Relief?
Holiday with Relief (HwR) is an awareness, preparedness and solutions focussed Resource to Manage Information over holidays (e.g. Easter and Summer holidays).
As an Information Manager, HwR is a set of life-changing tips and tricks to help and enable vulnerably unaware people to plan and have their holiday or break with confidence in taking into account all aspects of life and by making sure that key areas of those life aspects are not adversely affected.
• • • What is the focus for this year’s HwR?
The focus for HwR for this year is on Energy and Food during Holiday. It is about providing a set of life-enhancing tips and hints to support those who are looking for simple but practical advice to navigate their way towards control of their energy and the feeling of good food during holiday (e.g. Easter holiday).
• • • For whom this resource is designed
This resource is primarily designed for the CENFACS Community members and those related to them.
The resource also caters for the following:
√ Those who are looking for some basic ideas about energy and food during holiday
√ Those who are searching for nature-based solutions to the lack of energy and food during holiday
√ Those who are willing to create active and sharable holiday experiences through energy and food
√ Those (energy poor) having a high sensitivity of energy share to their household income
√ Those (food poor) struggling to meet the cost of a basket of food with minimum recommended nutritional intake
√ Anyone interested in energy and food during holiday.
• • • What is energy? What is food?
To define energy, we are going to borrow its definition from the Oxford dictionary of environment and conservation written by Chris Park (4). The latter defines it as
“Usable power or the capacity to do work, measured by the capacity to do work (potential energy) or the conversion of this capacity into motion (kinetic energy)” (p. 148)
This power or capacity is needed whether one is on holiday or not. In this Issue of HwR, the interest is in this power or capacity during holiday, particularly how this power or capacity can make one’s holiday happy.
To understand food, we have used Chambers Combined Dictionary Thesaurus (5) edited by Martin Manser and Megan Thomson. In this thesaurus, food is defined as
“A substance taken in by a living organism that provides it with energy and materials for growth, maintenance and repair of tissues” (p. 502).
Indeed, food as a substance is required during holiday, because it can determine the state and conditions of one’s holiday. In this Issue of HwR, we are providing help and support about ways of keeping one’s holiday plan under control via food or any substance that can help to grow, maintain and sustain lives over holidays.
• • • What sort of food and energy do we need during holiday?
There is no a specified set of the kind of food and energy during holiday. It all depends on individual consumption habits, budget, culture, weather, etc. It is the same for energy. However, some can use this Easter holiday to save energy and food since we are in the challenging time of rising real prices of energy and food.
One of the tips and hints of this Issue of HwR, it provides resources and leads about saving on energy and food.
• • • Where to find cheap good foods and energy
HwR contains a list of food stores and grocery sellers where those with limited income can purchase certain types of foods at the lowest prices. Amongst them, are those food retailers and discounters whose business goal is to sell cheap but good quality foods.
As part of finding cheap good foods, HwR includes market research results about online reviews from some organisations. Amongst these organisations is Which?.
Indeed, the online website ‘Which.co.uk’ (6) found in its best and worst supermarket reviews that
“Lidl was the cheapest supermarket in March 2022, with [Which’s] best of 21 groceries costing an average of £26.83. The same or equivalent items from the priciest supermarket Waitrose, meanwhile, would have cost £36.04”.
There are as well energy suppliers and traders that offer cheap energy (.e.g. sustainable electricity, gas and water). To make a choice or switch between them could be a matter of circumstances.
For example, Switch Plan (7) argues the following when dealing with the UK’s cheapest electricity suppliers:
“There is, unfortunately, no definitive answer to which supplier is the cheapest tends to change depending on the person and their circumstances such as the size of their home, how much electricity they use, and particularly the type of energy meter that house uses to monitor its electricity use”.
The same Switch Plan (op. cit.) further contends that
“The cheapest energy supplier in the UK is actually a very personalised thing, meaning that every household has unique energy needs and what may be the most economic energy plan for one person may be as cost-effective for others. Every UK energy consumer is looking for something slightly different in a supplier and while there are certainly some energy plans and suppliers that are cheaper than others, the cheapest energy plan for you will depend on your unique needs”.
In its April 2022 online publication, Switch Plan (8) states that
“EDF Energy was amongst the 3 cheapest 12 month fixed-rate energy tariffs available in the UK, with Electricity Annually Costing £607.917 and Gas Annual Costing £443.496 (These rates are inclusive of VAT at 5%)”.
Depending on everyone’s circumstances, they may choose the food retailers and energy suppliers who can meet their needs. However, for energy poor and food poor, this choice could be very limited. This is why we have included tips and hints to tackle energy poverty and food poverty.
• • • Reduction of food poverty and energy poverty during holiday
Holiday can offer opportunity to some people to have healthy meals, particularly for those who fail to have a good meal during the non-holiday time as they have no time to eat and they are always in a dreadful rush. They can seize the holiday moment to sustainably consume, to improve their basket of food with minimum recommended nutritional intake.
Likewise, holiday could be an occasion to tackle energy poverty for those who want to reduce the sensitivity of energy share to their household income. The tip and hint here is they can review and or audit their energy expenses. This exercise could only be helpful if they do not run holiday activities that end up rising their energy and food bills instead of reducing them.
• • • Looking for Help and Support about Energy and Food during Holiday
CENFACS can work with those in need of help and support about energy and food during holiday by undertaking the following:
√ Determining the extent to which energy and food can contribute the quality of one’s holiday
√ Assessing by how much energy and food can contribute to holiday enjoyment
√ Helping them to develop their story of good holiday via energy and food
√ Measuring their happiness during holiday because of a good control over their energy and the feeling of good food.
For those users who would like to dive into Energy and Food during Holiday, we can provide them with online and print resources relating to Energy and Food during Holiday. There is a lot of online resources and websites they can tap into, sign up and receive advice on them.
To support Energy and Food during Holiday and get the full Spring 2022 Issue of ICDP Resource (Holiday with Relief), please contact CENFACS.
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• References
(1) https://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/foodpricesindex/en/ (accessed in April 2022)
(2) https://weforum.org/agenda/2021/10/global-food-prices-global-global-food-price-index (accessed in April 2022)
(3) https://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/foodpricesindex/en/ (accessed in April 2022)
(4) Park, C., (2011), Oxford Dictionary of Environment and Conservation, Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York
(5) Chambers (1999), Combined Dictionary Thesaurus, Manser M. & Thomson, M. (Editors), Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd
(6) https://www.w/which.co.uk/reviews/supermarkets/article/supermarket-price-comparison-aPpYp9j1MFin#which-is-the-cheapest-supermarket-in-2022 (accessed in April 2022)
(7) https://www.switch-plan.co.uk/compare-energy-prices/electricity/cheapest/#.~:text= (accessed in April 2022)
(8) https://www.switch-plan.co.uk/compare-energy-prices/cheapest/(accessed in April 2022)
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Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year.
We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis. Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service.
One could consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future or as a New Year resolution.
Donate to support CENFACS!
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Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.
Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.
We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2022 and beyond.
With many thanks.
