Food charity FareShare is urgently calling on the food industry to donate supplies of healthy food and drinks — which will be distributed to children at risk of food poverty over the summer holidays.
One in five children grow up in a household where food is scarce. For these children, the summer holidays aren’t a time of fun and excitement, they’re a time of hunger.
With the safety net of free school meals removed many families face increased financial pressure over the six week break, which, in turn, drives them further into food insecurity. Without money for activities, children can also become bored and socially isolated. As a result, many children will return to school malnourished, tired, and unable to learn.
To bridge the gap, FareShare must supply 340 tonnes of food to more than 400 UK holiday projects this summer, which provide nutritious meals and snacks for over 50,000 children every week, along with plenty of fun activities like sport and drama.
In order to meet the specific needs of these vital schemes the charity are calling on suppliers and producers to donate fruit, child friendly snacks, wraps and low sugar juice as well as cereal bars, sandwiches, yogurt and spreads.
For a full list of the food needed go to https://fareshare.org.uk/holidayprojects
FareShare’s CEO, Lindsay Boswell, says: “We don’t believe it’s right that any child should go hungry, but, shockingly, for millions of UK children, hunger is a daily reality. We’ve seen a very sharp increase in the number of schemes that are coming to us for food — most of them run on a shoestring, with the help of volunteers.
Last year industry stepped up in a big way, and we were able to support children who might not otherwise eaten a proper meal with a healthy, nutritionally balanced lunch and snack. This year we’re hoping to increase the number of schemes we supply with food to over 400 holiday projects and breakfast clubs, but to achieve this we need the continued support of the food industry. With your help we can make a big difference to the lives of thousands of vulnerable children this summer.”
To donate food to children at risk of food poverty over the summer holidays visit https://fareshare.org.uk/holidayprojects
