In the UK 13 million people rare living below the poverty line and as a result, suffering from hunger. In the summer, the pressure is even greater as children are attending school and can’t rely on their free school meals.
The Trussell Trust are aiming to Stop UK Hunger and have developed projects dedicated for struggling families over the 170 non-school days a year.
Holiday clubs have been set up to not only tackle hunger but provide activities to support struggling families who feel isolated. In 2015 Kellogg’s released the ‘Hunger and Isolation’ report which found a third of parents have skipped a meal so that their children could eat during the school holidays. They also found that 41% of parents on low incomes have felt isolated in the school holidays because they cannot afford to go out and entertain their children.
Trussell Trust CEO, David McAuley explained “Last summer we saw an increase in demand for emergency food, with over 20,000 more referrals from frontline professionals to our foodbanks than in the previous quarter. Our foodbanks tell us that they are listening to some serious concerns from parents about how they are going to afford vital extra meals during the holiday period. Six weeks is a long time when your budget is already tightly stretched, and for some, it may be too difficult.”
Food banks rely on the support from communities by:
- People donating food in local supermarkets, churches, businesses and school
- People volunteering their time to sort, count and distribute the food to people in need.
Find out how you can support the project, find a food bank or volunteer your time.
