Local food charity, FareShare South West, is set to deliver more than 40 tonnes of food across the South West in just five weeks to projects supporting children and families during the summer holidays, including several in Bath.
The in-date, good quality surplus food, which is sourced from across the food industry, will be delivered on a Tuesday and Wednesday in a specially dedicated FareShare South West van to 24 different organisations in the South West region. 13 of these settings are schools, including Twerton Infants in Bath, with others including Somerset County Council, Bath Rugby Foundation, Southside Pantries in Twerton and Peasedown, Children’s Centres in St Martin’s Garden, Keynsham and Radstock, Bath Area Play Project, Youth Connect South West and The Weston Welcome Cafe Pantry in Bath
“Last year we celebrated the huge achievement of delivering enough food for 70,000 meals during the summer holidays but never did we expect that just a year later we’d be distributing enough food for a massive 100,000 meals in just a five week window,” said CEO of FareShare South West, Julian Mines.
“This quantity is reflective of need. Food poverty existed before Coronavirus, but the crisis has laid bare and exacerbated food insecurity across our nation, with footballer Marcus Rashford doing his bit to place the conversation at the centre of the media.
“Families who were just about coping are now struggling to put food on the table and with high levels of unemployment on the cards, it seems that need will only increase. We’re pleased and proud to be providing so much food to our partner charities and organisations in this summer period, many of whom are based right here in the city of Bristol.
“Holiday food support is a vital time limited opportunity to prevent people falling deeper into more complex issues relating poverty as well as to ensure children in our region don’t go needlessly hungry and can be ready for the new term when it begins.
“Unlike most summer holidays, where our food is largely going to active holiday projects where meals are cooked and supplied to the numerous children who attend, much of it this year – due to the limitations Coronavirus has presented – will be made into food parcels.”
For more information about FareShare South West, including if you’re interested in volunteering, visit: https://faresharesouthwest.org.uk/