\n<\/p>\n
And yet the potential power of messaging apps is hard to overstate. Another food aid provider who uses WhatsApp is Emily Connally, managing director of Cherwell Collective, a non-profit in Oxford.<\/p>\n
“We can mobilise 200 people with one text,” she says, noting how she doesn’t get as immediate a response on Facebook as she does via her WhatsApp group. This matters because she sometimes receives a donation of food that is near to its use by date, meaning it must be distributed very quickly.<\/p>\n
The local Pret a Manger recently donated a surplus of 165 sandwiches. A message went out to the WhatsApp group and people had collected all the sandwiches within an hour, says Dr Connally. <\/p>\n
Hundreds of locals rely on the food aid that she and her colleagues provide. “We’ve seen a pretty dramatic increase and I think it will get much, much worse,” she says, referring to rising food prices.<\/p>\n
Cherwell Collective was founded during the pandemic. Prof Talhouk suggests that local community groups that respond to crises might need support, for example from local authorities, to continue their work long-term.<\/p>\n
Back at My Yard, Rachel Diamond stresses that the impact of the groups she runs is not restricted to food aid. People help each other out with other problems, too. They confront loneliness and strengthen social bonds.<\/p>\n
“I find it absolutely fascinating,” she says, “watching people grow in their friendships – and their hope”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n