Food banks for the school holidays

[GloGirl]

Posting on here for traffic, but as it's AIBU feel free to make it into a food bank bun fight if you want (pun not intended).

I've just been reading through this thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2430146-Food-bank-donation-quantity-or-quality-Or-both?

And a poster made an excellent point that families don't have free school meals during the summer holidays.

Just a reminder to bear this in mind during your next supermarket shop if you wanted to throw a few extra items in the Food Bank donation

I was also debating that BeyondTheWall. My gut instinct says no.

foodbank may not, but perhaps a women's refuge may be able to use them

www.sufc-community.com/UI/Content/Content.aspx?ID=525

This is local to me and was absolutely swamped.

So much so that they ran out.

Our local food bank is running a summer scheme through children's centres. Families can go and get a letter of referral to collect a parcel of staples (pasta,cereal,pasta sauce,beans etc) once a week.

good on you OP

I'm not in the UK at the mo but will be again this year and have looked up my local branch in prep for then. It is just so completely, indescribably shit that we rely on charity to prevent extreme hardship in the UK now. Fucking shameful.

Citizens pay taxes. They should be used towards taking care of priorities first. I'd say a huge priority would be keeping people from being hungry not topping up MPs' salaries to up to 150k a year, as if they work so much harder than people in min wage jobs

I'd say a huge priority would be keeping people from being hungry not topping up MPs' salaries to up to 150k a year, as if they work so much harder than people in min wage jobs angry

Irrelevant and naive argument.

I find it I easier to donate cash to the local food bank as I do online shopping. Don't have to worry about what they actually need at the moment, just chuck £10 across every month when I do the big shop.

Thanks for the post OP; I'm ashamed to say this hadn't occured to me but I will ensure I add in some items x

Naively I hadn't even thought of this issue

I have though texted my local food bank in the past offering to volunteer, I'd love to work doing something like that.

If I get find employment soon, I'll make sure I send some stuff round.

I hadn't considered the impact of the holidays either.

I will take some stuff down this week. Might set up a direct debit; I'll ask them what they'd prefer.

Irrelevant and naive argument.

In your very humble opinion.

Bump

In 2013-14 foodbanks fed 913,138 people nationwide. Of those helped, 330,205 were children.

13 million people live below the poverty line in the UK.

Source: The Trussell Trust
www.trusselltrust.org/foodbank-projects

Our local area food bank provides lunch pick up points during the school holidays for children entitled to free school meals.

Thanks, munxx, for letting us know about the school holiday lunch scheme.

Really given me food for thought for our next school holidays. I just wish I'd heard about it in time for this holiday!

Something else Scotland is doing right www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-33593816

Slightly taking this off-topic. Someone I know has set up a charity to provide sanitary protection for homeless women. I can't imagine trying to manage during my period with only public toilets and no sanpro. If the food bank wont take it then these people definitely will.

www.facebook.com/gowiththeflowproject

I also throw in quite a few packets of Zooper Doopers (not sure what you call them in the UK, but they are the long sticks like the picture attached) in summer and donate them to the local food bank. They can be stored easily without needing to be kept cold, and they come in strips so they can be split up to share out. Throw them in a freezer for a few hours and you get an icy pole. Food bank food doesn't just have to be staples.

I watched a documentary a few years ago about child poverty, I think it was on BBC1. The struggle that some families have particularly during school hols is heartbreaking . It's always something I bear in mind at this time of year.

Midnight scribbler...from my part of the UK they would be called Tip Tops

Thanks for starting this thread.
I always forget to add something to my trolley as I go round the supermarket and then see the baskets on the way out and feel cross with myself for forgetting.
This thread prompted me to go on the website for my local foodbank, download their shopping list and print it off. Now I just need to remember to take it with me whenever I do a shop.

Cariadlet, that's a great idea to take a food bank shopping list along with your own! No excuses then, I am terrible for forgetting as well

Hi All

I work for MakeLunch ( and am a mum!) it's great to hear you guys talking about us! Thanks Munxx for the link to us.

Thanks for all caring about this issue. If you want to read a bit more about how big an issue this is a new report was released last week and is hosted here on our blog: makelunch.org.uk/blog/makelunch-take-breakfast

We've got lots of kitchens all over the country so if you want to find out if one is near you have a look here: www.makelunch.org.uk/kitchens.

If you've got any questions about what we do feel free to contact me.

Thanks again

Steph

steph, have pm'd you

What an amazing set up Steph. It is too late for this year as MN has just run it, but you should apply next year for Mumsnet's Giving Week

"The idea is that you lovely lot use this thread to put forward the charities, organisations and good causes that you’d like to benefit - and we at MNHQ will pick five to be the focus of a week-long Mumsnet-wide fundraising drive in June. As last year, we will match-fund the amount raised by the end of the week (up to £25k, just in case any donors turn out to be Bill Gates).

A few principles: ideally the organisations chosen won’t be huge, national charities that already get a lot of coverage and fund-raising welly; they don’t have to be registered charities (our partners at JustGiving will do a bit of due diligence to make sure any that are chosen are legit organisations); and we’re on the lookout for a spread of organisations that reflect MNers’ concerns and interests. Last year the chosen organisations were the PDA Society (providing support for people with a little-known behavioural condition); the MNer-driven Woolly Hugs; Women’s Aid; Free Cakes for Kids; and Haven House Children’s Hospice.

Thank you so much Glogirl

I will look out for this for next year! What a shame we just missed it.