Community Engagement at Pecan
By Flora Schweighofer (she/her)
Community Engagement Officer at Pecan
The more we are, the more powerful our voice becomes
– Voices for Southwark: Community Organising at Pecan and Southwark Foodbank
Community organising means bringing people together to take action on the issues they care about. In this blog, our Community Engagement Officer Flora Schweighofer shares how a group of local residents on low incomes connected to Pecan are coming together to make life in Southwark easier and better for everyone.
From March 2022 to March 2025, Pecan and Southwark Foodbank have been part of Trussell’s Organising programme to build local campaigns. As part of this project, Pecan’s Community Engagement Officer met with people who have accessed Pecan’s food projects Southwark Foodbank and Peckham Pantry in one-to-one meetings and monthly group discussions to identify a campaign issue and build an organising team.
The aim of Voices for Southwark is to listen to citizens
and find out what they need to make Southwark a better community to live in.
– Anna, Voices for Southwark
Voices for Southwark
Members of this community organising group decided on the name “Voices for Southwark” and through a creative workshop with Drawing People Together, and support from Pecan’s Marketing Manager developed a logo to represent the group and campaign. Voices for Southwark members have planned and taken actions on a “Keep it simple Southwark” campaign for easier access to information and support with money matters in the borough.
Keep it Simple Southwark Campaign
35 people who have been in touch with Pecan’s projects got involved with Voices for Southwark and the campaign by running a survey and writing letters to Southwark Council.
The actions resulted in meetings with Councillor Stephanie Cryan and Head of Strategy and Compliance Eugene Nixon, where Voices for Southwark members shared about their experience accessing financial advice in Southwark and called for an easy-to-use website for money matters in the borough.
As a response, Southwark Council has recognised the issue and need for action and has significantly improved its website and digital accessibility.
Contributing to a positive change in my local community (…)
gives me a sense of fulfilment, and achievement. At least even if other areas of my life are proving challenging, this gives me a sense of self-esteem.
– Esther, Voices for Southwark
What’s Next?
Voices for Southwark are now starting to work on a new campaign on community centres and spaces to gather in Southwark. Stay tuned to Pecan’s newsletters and social media for updates.
More details about the impact of this project on Voices for Southwark members, Pecan as an organisation, and for Southwark residents can be found in the Impact Report.
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Flora, Community Engagement Officer
Pecan’s Community Engagement Officer Flora grew up in Germany in an Austrian, Italian and British family. With a background in working with refugees and food projects, Flora found her passion for community organising through this role at Pecan. As Flora’s three-year period on this project at Pecan is coming to an end, she will be moving on to Trussell, to support other food banks to organise for their local campaigns.
“I have loved working with so many dedicated people with different experiences but shared values and aims. I’m proud of how our campaign leaders and myself have developed our confidence and skills, and to see some of the improvements our campaign called for in Southwark. These outcomes show the impact coming together and building power can have.”
