food poverty – Page 4 – The NEN

Edible Edinburgh: Working together to end food poverty

Councillor George Gordon, Chair of the Edible Edinburgh Partnership, writes about work to reduce food poverty and promote local growing:

Writing in my role as the Chair of Edible Edinburgh Partnership, I wanted to highlight the superb food hamper distribution programme recently launched by UNICEF in association with the Partnership and Edinburgh Community Foods.

As you would hope and expect, UNICEF recognises the devastating effect the pandemic is having on individuals and families in the lower income bracket who are now experiencing food poverty and insecurity.

This is the first time the charity has directly invested in the UK as they, like we do, recognise that this has created a situation that will take a considerable length of time to fix* (see below – Ed.). Yes, we can see light at the end of the tunnel as we roll out a UK-wide vaccination programme, but this will take time to achieve.

Edible Edinburgh is working closely with the City of Edinburgh Council and other partners to try and tackle poverty right here in Scotland’s capital city – a very real and unacceptable situation.

Thanks to the work of the Edinburgh Poverty Commission, published earlier this year, there can be no doubt that this support is desperately needed – and I’m delighted that the Council has committed to ending poverty in our city by 2030.

This specific programme will supply 450 individual families with the necessary food they require to survive through this Christmas period. I hasten to point out these are all newly identified families who have not been part of any previous existing programmes put in place by the Scottish Government or the Council. The vast majority are delivered through the third sector, who are predominantly charitable organisations.

I could fill this whole column with praise for the organisations involved and with the statistics and individual testimonies from those hardest hit – the many people I’ve spoken to in my various positions as a Councillor about the real hardship many of our fellow citizens are faced with.

I also want to take this opportunity to highlight another key piece of work that Edible Edinburgh are doing in association with the Council – that is the provision of areas of land for food growing as part of the Community Empowerment Act.

A consultation on the draft Edinburgh Food Growing Strategy, Growing Locally, which sets out a plan to grow more locally, consume more locally and to increase awareness and engagement, went live on 1 December.

Our aim is to identify areas of food growing through allotments, community growing space and at least four areas for market gardens which will be run and maintained by community groups and organisations. A fine example of this is what is being currently built at Lauriston Farm and I look forward to seeing progress over the next couple of years.

My request to you is simple: get involved! Please take the time to give your views (before the closing date on 18 January) and remember there are no stupid ideas. This is hugely relevant and important as we move toward providing more locally produced sustainable food sources for our city and our country.

By doing so we can live better while helping to reduce food insecurity, carbon emissions – and, of course, poverty.

In response to comments made in the House of Commons about Unicef UK’s funding of UK food programmes last week, Anna Kettley, Unicef UK’s Director of Programmes and Advocacy, said:

“Unicef UK is responding to this unprecedented crisis and building on our 25 years’ experience of working on children’s rights in the UK with a one-off domestic response, launched in August, to provide support to vulnerable children and families around the country during this crisis period.

“In partnership with Sustain, the food and farming alliance, over £700k of Unicef UK funds is being granted to community groups around the country to support their vital work helping children and families at risk of food insecurity during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Unicef will continue to spend our international funding helping the world’s poorest children. We believe that every child is important and deserves to survive and thrive no matter where they are born.”

Over 3 million meals shared from Leith depot during Covid-19

Cyrenians FareShare depot based in Leith, have distributed 1,300 tonnes of food to beneficiaries across the South East of Scotland, creating over 3.1 million meals, since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic in March.

The Edinburgh based charity tackle the causes and consequences of homelessness, of which food poverty is a large part.

Cyrenians FareShare Service Manager Lynne Collie said, “Since the beginning of covid-19 we have seen an increased demand for access to food in a quick, dignified manner.

“At the height of the pandemic we were supporting over 200 Community Food Members – all of whom are organisations in their own right, serving their local community.

“Our model is two-fold; we prevent unnecessary food waste by working with large supermarkets and food networks to prevent surplus food being sent to waste, whilst helping organisations like Empty Kitchens and Eildon Housing Association to redirect funds into essential frontline work by providing nutritious food at low costs.

“At the beginning of the pandemic the Scottish Government, in partnership with FareShare UK, purchased food in bulk to distribute throughout our network allowing us to really step up our operation. We were in a unique position to provide additional support over the past 9 months because of that network; we were already connected to thousands of individuals who were likely to be even further impacted by the negative effects of covid-19.”

Head of Service Neil Hay added, “The logistics were the most difficult aspect – with an increase in stock we had to consider storage options, staff rotations, physical distancing measures – all of which impacted how we usually operate.

“We’re based in a small warehouse on Jane Street, with a team of volunteer drivers and a handful of staff.

“We have been fortunate to have received additional volunteer support from Edinburgh University over the past few months, helping us to keep our teams safe while continuing to support as many people as we can.”

Cyrenians FareShare Team are still supporting 156 community food members across the South East of Scotland. Demand continues to grow, with 3.1 million meals distributed already this year compared to 1 million the previous year, they need your support more than ever.

To find out more, or donate to support their work, visit www.cyrenians.scot

The Caring Family Foundation launches Food from the Heart campaign

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”.

MPs press Government to provide support for FareShare scheme

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.”

Morrisons to donate 15,000 lunchboxes daily to help schoolchildren in need

– 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.

For more information visit www.morrisons.co.uk

Pressure mounts over holiday hunger

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:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/554276/…

“It’s time we put party politics aside and worked together to find a long-term sustainable solution to child food poverty in the UK.”

Scran Academy announces merger with Prep Table Scotland

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.”

Food for homeless and people at risk

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.”

The Communities Secretary announced the £350 million funding package on 18 March.

Local funding breakdowns are available via the Community Funding Mapping Hub.

Trussel Trust food banks thank Tesco for support

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.”

Morrisons introduces Food Parcels for customers to donate to food banks

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.

For more information, visit www.morrisons.co.uk.

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