The Caring Family Foundation has launched a new campaign ‘Food from the Heart’, with the aim to make a difference to the lives of children in the UK living in poverty.
Throughout December this new campaign will provide 80,000 meals to children that are going hungry this Christmas and will continue to feed children in need into 2021.
The campaign was born from the desire to play a role in alleviating the disastrous impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the existing growing problem of child food poverty across the UK. The ‘Food from the Heart’ campaign pledges to feed children with a food delivery program that will have a sustainable impact.
Partnering with FareShare and The Felix Project, The Caring Family Foundation’s ‘Food from the Heart’ campaign will deliver meals across the UK to children most in need of food, found through a nationwide conducted survey by FareShare.
Chefs across the hospitality network, have come together to create nutritious meals for children, including Cottage Pie, Vegetarian Lasagne and Vegan Macaroni & Cheese.
Husband and wife, Richard and Patricia Caring, who founded The Caring Family Foundation will utilise the chefs from their hospitality network; The Ivy Collection and Caprice Holdings who have volunteered to produce healthy recipes for the children’s meals.
“My husband and I feel incredibly passionate and proud to be launching the ‘Food from the Heart’ campaign through the Caring Family Foundation with the support of FareShare and The Felix Project”, said PatriciaCaring, Co-Founder of The Caring Family Foundation.
“As a mother of three young children, it is so important that we are doing everything we can to help children who are going hungry and make a positive impact on some of the devastating statistics surrounding child poverty”.
The House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee has urged the UK Government to provide £5 million in extra funding to support those struggling to afford sufficient food this winter.
This echoes a call made earlier this year by the Committee in its report on Covid-19 and Food Supply. In a letter from the Committee’s Chair to the Secretary of State, the cross-party group of MPs show support for a FareShare scheme which redistributes surplus food from the supply chain to food charities.
FareShare estimates that the scheme would provide 47 million meals per year to the most vulnerable in society.
Chair of the EFRA Select Committee, Neil Parish MP, said: “We face a tough winter with many businesses closing and incomes reducing or disappearing, pushing people into food poverty.
“The Government must make sure that the most vulnerable members of society have access to enough healthy food. To waste food in the supply chain at such a time would be abhorrent, and this grant would provide a huge boost to the invaluable work of charities redistributing surplus food to those who most need it.”
– Move aims to help fight holiday hunger this half-term –
– Customers can also purchase pre-packed bags of groceries to feed young people –
Morrisons stores will join the national effort to ensure no school child in need goes without an adequate meal this half term.
Morrisons colleagues in 498 stores will prepare 30 lunch boxes in each of their stores this half-term. That’s 14,940 lunches daily with packaging donated by distribution company Bunzl.
The lunchboxes will be distributed daily by each store to local food banks and schools so they can get them to school children in need. The lunch box includes a freshly made sandwich, a piece of fruit and a Soreen snack pack.
Morrisons is also to offer customers the option to support the effort by buying their own ‘Pick Up Packs’, which will also be distributed to young people.
The packs’ cost between £1 and £5 and contain a nutritionally balanced mix of food products that have been requested by the local food banks and schools according to their needs. The pre-packed parcels are available at the front of all Morrisons stores and are paid for at the checkout. The pack is then put aside for delivery to those in need.
Rebecca Singleton, Customer and Community Director at Morrisons, said:“We want to do our bit to ensure that as many school children as possible can eat good, nutritious food while they are out of school.
“We will be delighted if customers are also able to donate food in our stores to help fight holiday hunger.”
Local Morrisons stores on Ferry Road and Granton Waterfront are already providing great support through contributions to the North Edinburgh COVID-19 Foodshare Group.
2200 paediatricians sign open letter to Prime Minister urging Government to extend free school meals to cover holidays
Thousands of health professionals have signed an open letter urging the UK Government to change course on free school meals during the holidays. They praise footballer Marcus Rashford’s campaign tackling food poverty and call for the Prime Minister to follow the lead of the devolved administrations.
In 24 hours, 2200 Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) members have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, calling for the UK Government to match the pledge made by the Welsh and Scottish Governments, and the Northern Ireland Executive to provide food vouchers to cover school holidays for children from low-income backgrounds.
More than 800 paediatricians signed the letter within an hour of circulation.
The letter argues that childhood hunger is an issue that should transcend politics, and that good nutrition is at the heart of health, wellbeing and development for children and young people. It notes that without it, children’s health outcomes worsen, and with that, so do their life chances.
With over four million children in the UK living in poverty and the current pandemic entrenching this reality, children desperately need government support.
The letter says that while food vouchers will not solve the problem of child poverty, they do offer a short-term remedy for children that don’t have enough to eat.
Professor Russell Viner, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said: “I’ve rarely seen such anger among our members. We care for children who don’t have enough to eat. We see far too many of them. It is heartbreaking that it has become a normal part of our jobs and hunger is all too common for millions of families in the UK.
“There is an opportunity to put this right. It is pointless to talk about levelling up the country, an ambition which we support, while refusing to offer temporary relief to children and families.
Dr Max Davie, Officer for Health Improvement at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said: “We’re a rich country. This isn’t about money, it’s about making sure people have food to eat, and it’s about doing the right thing for children who need a hand up.
“We shouldn’t have to fight for food vouchers when we’re in the middle of a pandemic.”
Dr Liz Whittaker, Consultant Paediatrician at St. Marys Hospital, London said:“Household food insecurity is linked to long-term negative consequences for health, educational outcomes and future income.
“Missing meals isn’t just about going hungry on an individual day, it has a lasting impact on a young person’s life. Aside from the fact that it is wrong to see children go hungry, it is impossible to justify any argument that this saves the state money.”
The open letter pays tribute to Marcus Rashford for his influential and inspiring advocacy on behalf of children and young people. RCPCH is proud to support his campaign.
Letter text:
As paediatricians we are shocked by the refusal of the UK Government to extend the provision of free school meals in England to children from low-income backgrounds during the school holidays.
Childhood hunger is an issue that should transcend politics. Few would disagree that one of our most basic human responsibilities is to ensure children have enough to eat.
Every day, we see the impact of hunger and malnutrition in our work as paediatricians. It is not unusual for us to care for children who don’t have enough to eat or who don’t have access to a substantial meal outside of what is provided in school. Good nutrition is at the heart of health, wellbeing and development for children and young people. Without it, children’s health outcomes worsen, and with that, so do their life chances
More than 4 million children in the UK live in poverty and around one third of those are reliant on free school meals. The pandemic has entrenched and exacerbated this reality; families who were previously managing are now struggling to make ends meet because of the impact of COVID-19. It is not good enough to send them into the holiday period hoping for the best, while knowing that many will simply go hungry. Food vouchers will not solve this problem, but they offer a short-term remedy.
We call on the UK Government to match the pledges of the Welsh and Scottish Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive, to continue to provide children from low-income backgrounds with free meals over the coming weeks and to then extend this at least until the Easter school holiday, as they have done in Wales and Scotland.
We pay tribute to Marcus Rashford and his powerful campaigning. His advocacy for children and young people has been a source of inspiration in difficult times. We are proud to stand with him on this issue.
Marcus Rashford MBE said: “If you can do one thing for me, sign the petition:
Scotland’s social enterprise and charity sector today sees the merger of two successful social impact organisations.
Scran Academy, the locally-based youth charity – which also today marks its third anniversary – has formally united with catering enterprise, Prep Table Scotland, whose mission is to make the food industry more open, fair and ethical for producers, suppliers, employees and customers.
The merger became an increasingly obvious move for both organisations as the dramatic events of 2020 unfolded.
Conversations to join forces were already underway before the Coronavirus pandemic hit the UK, but the Scran Meals Programme, developed to feed Edinburgh’s most vulnerable people during lockdown, was a real testing ground and the ‘accelerating force’ for integrating both organisations.
Today’s formal announcement comes following that period of joint operations for both organisations as they responded to the Covid-19 food crisis. The partnership’s pioneering Scran Meals Programme has produced and delivered over 112,500 meals to around 3,500 residents across the capital.
All core delivery, assets and staff will continue within the Scran Academy operations. This primarily includes the café that operates from the NHS Comely Bank Centre becoming the Scran Café (which will be a trading element that creates job placements for young people), securing employment for the Prep Table staff team and the Prep Table Scotland assets transferring to enable increased value for Scran Academy young people.
The merged organisation will retain the Scran Academy name.
John Loughton, Founder of Scran Academy, said:“The staff and Board at Scran Academy are delighted to welcome this merger with Prep Table Scotland. We see this as a mature and exciting move that helps us all collectively deliver better social outcomes than either of us could have alone.
“The epic response we were able to initiate in these last 4 months immediately proves how important it is for social enterprises to work together and embrace change. When things got really tough, we recognised we needed to collaborate, not simply compete.”
“We are honoured to take forward the impressive legacy Fiona Donaldson and the Prep Table Scotland team have built up using food for social change. We are fused by two core beliefs – the importance of empowering young people and communities, and secondly the transformational role of food to change lives and challenge norms.
“Our new increased capacity will see us continue to build a social catering business model that is better known, creates more jobs, enhances our impact and critically creates more life-changing opportunities for young people.”
Fiona Donaldson, Founder of Prep Table Scotland said:“Looking at what has been achieved by Scran Academy and partners since March this year, gives me great pride in an organisation I had admired for quite some time.
“In a culture which can be difficult to navigate, to find the core meaning and outcomes of, Scran has always had young people and their families as the engine that powered every decision they had to make.”
“Both organisations had concerns about losses incurred from the cancellation of income generating events, the closure of schools and the café. This decision has delivered a long-term plan for young people in Edinburgh, to flourish and to engage with their community. It has given hope to people who feared for their jobs in the catering industry and that’s a proud legacy of my organisation.”
“I look forward to joining the Scran Academy Board, with the great pride and excitement for what we will collectively achieve for years to come. I feel incredibly proud to have played a part in its most incredible rise.”
Demand for food packs highlights impact of the pandemic.
Homeless people and others affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak are to receive further support through the Scottish Government’s emergency funding for communities.
In March, Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell announced a £350 million package of funding to help tackle harms caused by the pandemic, including a £70 million Food Fund. More than £40 million extra funding has since been committed for food initiatives, increasing the total to £110 million.
Social enterprise Social Bite has been awarded an additional £48,500 for its COVID-19 response, with its funding since April now totalling £700,000. Its team have delivered 500,000 food packs and meals to people in need in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow since April.
Speaking following a visit to Social Bite’s central kitchen in Livingston, Ms Campbell said: “Like many community groups and charities, Social Bite’s team have worked hard making and delivering meals as well as offering a free takeaway service for those most at risk. I want to thank everyone who has supported people through this time.
“Sadly, the demand for such services highlights the terrible impact of the pandemic on people from all walks of life.
“We have provided flexibility through our £110 million funding to tackle food insecurity so people can access both cash and food-based support. This includes funding for free school meals over the summer holidays, food boxes for those who were shielding and support for people facing financial hardship. We have also more than doubled the Scottish Welfare Fund.
“Anyone worried about being able to access food should contact the National Helpline on 0800 111 4000.”
Josh Littlejohn, co-founder and CEO of Social Bite, said: “As soon as the pandemic hit, we saw that food poverty was going to be a major issue for our most vulnerable communities, so we re-purposed Social Bite’s entire infrastructure to provide free food for those who needed it.
“Thanks to support from the Scottish Government, the business community and the public, we were able to mobilise extremely quickly. Since the pandemic began, we have distributed more than 500,000 food packs. This funding will help us provide further support for homeless people and other vulnerable groups in our communities amid the acute challenges of COVID-19.”
Back at the start of April, as the full effects of the pandemic were unfolding across the UK, more and more people were needing support from food banks.
In the previous two weeks, there had already been a 81% surge in need for emergency food parcels compared to March 2019 – and as April wore on, this increased need for help would continue, with double the number of families needing help compared to the same month in 2019.
We were working closely with food banks to ensure people who couldn’t afford essentials were able to get an emergency parcel – but food banks could only continue to provide that vital lifeline if there was enough food for parcels.
It made such a difference that at the start of April Tesco pledged to support food banks in our network, independent food banks and food redistribution charity FareShare, with £15 million worth of food to ensure support could be there for people.
The £500,000 of funding and support with Bags for Life also came at exactly the right time to help us support food banks during this challenging time.
During the past 12 weeks, these donations have been critical for food banks across the country, ensuring emergency support was there for anyone unable to afford food.
Tesco’s support made all the difference during the crisis – as Jon from Brixton Foodbank explains: “We don’t think this support should have been needed. Everyone should be able to afford their own food and we’re stepping up our work to end the need for food banks.
“But while we do that longer-term work, we need to make sure help is available for people in crisis right now.
“We are so grateful for Tesco’s support during the past 12 weeks – it was absolutely critical to making sure food banks were able to be there for people as the impact of Covid-19 first unfolded.”
Customers can purchase pre-packed bags of groceries designed around the needs of local food banks
Move follows £10m initial donation from the supermarket at the start of the pandemic –
Morrisons is making it easier for its customers to feed people in need by launching food parcels that can be bought and then donated at the checkout.
Food banks are often overwhelmed by products such as rice and pasta and short of other items that people actually need.
The supermarket’s new ‘Pick Up Packs’ cost between £1 and £3 and contain a mix of food products that have been requested by the local food bank based on their local needs.
The packs are the brainchild of Morrisons colleague Michelle Leary from Basingstoke, who noticed that customers struggled with what to donate to food banks.
The pre-packed parcels mean that customers don’t need to spend time browsing the shelves for items to donate. After a successful trial, they are now being rolled out nationally.
Customers can easily pick one up at the start of their shop and pay for it at the till with the rest of their shopping. The pack is then put aside and collected by volunteers working for the food bank.
Rebecca Singleton, Community Director at Morrisons, said:“The UK’s food banks are a lifeline for the most vulnerable in our communities and these parcels are an easy way to donate to them. At Morrisons, we want to play our full part in feeding the nation and ensure nobody gets left behind.”
The ‘Pick Up Pack’ initiative is part of Morrisons drive to restock Britain’s food banks and continue feeding the nation, particularly those who are vulnerable and struggling with the economic fallout of COVID-19.
Additionally, Morrisons, in partnership with the Trussell Trust, has also become the first UK supermarket to trial an online donation mechanism that goes straight into the pockets of local food banks.
Customers can purchase £10 vouchers on the Morrisons Food Boxes website (http://www.morrisons.com/food-boxes) which gets sent directly to a local food bank of their choice. The online scheme was initially piloted with 5 local food banks and has now been rolled out to 50 nationally.
People most at risk from food insecurity due to the COVID-19 outbreak are to receive further support from the Scottish Government’s £70 million Food Fund. An additional £1.6 million of funding will help FareShare purchase more food for local authorities, community-run initiatives and frontline charities across Scotland.
FareShare, a national network of charitable food distributors, has distributed over 1,440 tonnes of food – the equivalent of almost 3.5 million meals – since 23 March, supported by £500,000 of Scottish Government funding.
Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell said: “At this difficult time, it is more important than ever that we tackle food insecurity by supporting the work of community food distribution groups across the country who are best placed to ensure vital supplies reach those who need it most.
“By working in partnership with FareShare and their partners in communities across Scotland, this extra funding will help frontline charities and community food groups provide support to even more people in need.
“I would encourage anyone who is struggling to afford or access food during these challenging times to contact our national helpline on 0800 111 4000.”
Head of FareShare Scotland Gillian Kynoch said: “We are experiencing an enormous pull on our resources during these challenging times. While food companies continue to make their surplus food available to us, the need in communities for support with additional food remains great.
“This additional £1.6 million will enable us to top up our food supplies through the coming months and keep on providing food to the frontline organisations caring for and supporting people hard pressed by the current crisis.”
Leader of Highland Council Margaret Davidson said: “The strong collaboration between the council and FareShare has benefited the many households who have been receiving nutritional food parcels from our local community hubs since lockdown began.
In addition to the food supplies for the council, FareShare continues to supply a wide range of community groups across the Highlands who in turn are ensuring local households are nourished.
“Our welfare team continues to carry out benefit checks ensuring that all benefits are claimed, including the Scottish Welfare Fund.”
The £70 million Food Fund supports people facing additional barriers in accessing food, and has been distributed as follows:
£30 million for the national shielding programme to provide food parcels to those at high clinical risk from COVID-19
£30 million to Local Authorities for others who are at-risk or struggling financially, including over-70s and families eligible for free school meals
£10 million to third-sector partners delivering community-based responses at national and local levels, including FareShare.
FareShare is a UK-wide network of charitable food redistributors, made up of 17 independent organisations. Together they take quality surplus food from across the UK and get it to almost 11,000 frontline charities and community groups.
If you live in North Edinburgh and are experiencing hardship, local support is right on your doorstep:
