The fact that 14,000,000 people across the UK are living in poverty, and that of that number 4,500,000 are children, is an uncomfortable truth that many of us choose not to dwell on for long. It's hard to imagine; a fifth of the UK's population fall into that bracket. One in five.
Juggling the responsibilities of every day life and it's resultant costs - utilities, rent, phone bills, clothing - mean that many of these families are unable to get by without the help of food banks. Put food in the fridge and on the table, or put something towards the long overdue bills? It's a balancing act, and without the food banks' support, many people would not have enough to feed their families. In some case, even with their support, there is not enough. The prospect of the forthcoming school holidays is not a welcome one; without breakfast clubs and school lunches children often go hungry.
In the current environment food banks need our support more than ever - and yet donations have decreased substantially since Covid 19 started to make an impact.
If you can afford it, however - and it's doesn't have to cost a lot - it's not hard to help out. The next time you go to the supermarket stick a few extra items in your basket and drop them off at the trolley on the other side of the checkouts. Ideally, check in with your local foodbank before you go to see what they need (click here to find the one nearest to you). Interestingly, the list doesn't seem to change that much from one week to the next, so if you forget to check before you can just go with what you've bought before. For example, here's a shopping list from my local food bank. It's remained more or less the same for the last few weeks.
COFFEE
Juggling the responsibilities of every day life and it's resultant costs - utilities, rent, phone bills, clothing - mean that many of these families are unable to get by without the help of food banks. Put food in the fridge and on the table, or put something towards the long overdue bills? It's a balancing act, and without the food banks' support, many people would not have enough to feed their families. In some case, even with their support, there is not enough. The prospect of the forthcoming school holidays is not a welcome one; without breakfast clubs and school lunches children often go hungry.
In the current environment food banks need our support more than ever - and yet donations have decreased substantially since Covid 19 started to make an impact.
If you can afford it, however - and it's doesn't have to cost a lot - it's not hard to help out. The next time you go to the supermarket stick a few extra items in your basket and drop them off at the trolley on the other side of the checkouts. Ideally, check in with your local foodbank before you go to see what they need (click here to find the one nearest to you). Interestingly, the list doesn't seem to change that much from one week to the next, so if you forget to check before you can just go with what you've bought before. For example, here's a shopping list from my local food bank. It's remained more or less the same for the last few weeks.
COFFEE
You don't have to spend a fortune; even a few items will make a difference, especially now when food banks are running perilously low on stocks (click for a link to a Guardian article giving more details). Unsurprisingly perhaps, many people are so distracted by world events that buying a couple of extra tins of sweetcorn or tomatoes is the last thing on their minds, but if you can find the time and the impetus to do so, you could make all the difference.
Here are couple of useful links if you would like to know more about how to help:
https://www.trusselltrust.org/
http://www.foodaidnetwork.org.uk/
https://feedingbritain.org/
Here are couple of useful links if you would like to know more about how to help:
https://www.trusselltrust.org/
http://www.foodaidnetwork.org.uk/
https://feedingbritain.org/
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