FareShare Midlands urging people to "Be A Hero – Feed A Child" with £50,000 summer appeal
They're expecting this year to be the busiest summer to date.
FareShare Midlands, the region's largest food redistribution charity, is launching its "Be A Hero – Feed A Child" campaign to beat child hunger during the upcoming school summer holidays. The charity aims to raise £50,000 to provide an additional 200,000 meals to vulnerable children and families across the Midlands.
With 1 million children living in poverty in the Midlands and food insecurity doubling since the pandemic, many families who rely on school meals face significant challenges during school closures.
In some areas across the Midlands over 50% of children could go without food this summer without support from FareShare Midlands and its members. A survey last year revealed that 1 in 4 teachers bring food to school to support hungry children, while over a third of schools provide food support to children and their families.
Local charities and community groups are struggling to meet the increased demand from families facing food insecurity. At St Johns Methodist Church, the "Make Lunch" team provides weekly food parcels to local families in need.
Yvonne Gough, Make Lunch Manager, said: "It's just a lifeline for the parents because they're really struggling in the school holidays. Some of our families have several children. It's hard for them to keep them fed."
Simone Connolly, Chief Executive at FareShare Midlands, said “I cannot emphasise enough the impact the cost of living crisis has on families, particularly during the long summer holidays. We urgently need donations to help FareShare Midlands prevent more children than ever from going hungry, and returning to school disadvantaged from being undernourished”.
FareShare Midlands redistributes surplus food from the food industry and delivers it to frontline charities and community groups across the Midlands.
To donate to help feed school children this summer: https://www.faresharemidlands.org.uk/summer-fundraising-campaign#