Between Thursday 30 June and Saturday 2 July FareShare, in conjunction with Tesco, will be holding the UK’s biggest Neighbourhood Food Collection. This is an opportunity for members of the public to donate food that doesn’t become surplus very often – long life items such as tins, rice and tea.
These donations, along with the daily donations of fresh produce by the food and drink industry, mean that Fareshare can offer a wide range of nutritionally balanced food to the 140 charities and communities they support. By cutting their food spend, Fareshare is helping these organisations to use more funds to support the most vulnerable.
The UK is the fifth richest country in the world, yet 5.8 million of its people are currently living in poverty. Low income parents regularly skip meals to feed their children, older people may be choosing between heating their homes or feeding their stomachs. Record numbers of people are being referred to food banks; hunger is a very real issue in the UK and it could impact pretty much anyone. The average person is just two pay packets away from it.
What can I do?
Christmas food collections benefit from a seasonal surge in generosity; in the summer months the public tend to give less, but the need for food is just as urgent. With the school holidays approaching, much of the donated food will be used to help tackle holiday hunger.What to do something about this? You can, with just three hours of your time.
Can you give a few hours between 30 June and 2 July to help at your local Tesco store*? Along with other volunteers, you will meet and greet customers, handing out shopping lists encouraging them to put something extra in their shopping trolley to be used by a local charity to feed the most vulnerable in our local community. All the food will be sent to and sorted by volunteers at the local Fareshare depot, before being redistributed to the places that need it – food banks, lunch clubs for older people, schools, children centres, breakfast clubs, hostels, soup kitchens, women refuges and projects supporting ex servicemen and those living with addictions, debt and mental health. It is often a hot meal that is the beginning of someone’s recovery. Three hours of your time, and you’ll be part of a national initiative helping to fight hunger in Britain. Register now.
*Tesco doesn’t profit from the event; they donate 20% of sales to FareShare, money which helps keep Fareshare vans on the road and distributing donations.
Facts for this blog post were supplied by Fareshare.