Food banks say no to hunger

Written by Naimah Miah, Challenge:ELBA Project Manager

Most children look forward to the long school holidays, but it has become a nightmare for many parents with the cost of living going up and the UK predicted to enter into a recession. The rise in grocery bills have been one of the main factors driving up living costs, with a food price inflation of 9.8% leading to increases in staple foods such as milk, bread and eggs. Research has shown that some parents are even skipping meals to feed their children.

The demand for food banks has also in turn gone up during these difficult times to provide family care packages but they cannot tackle the food poverty crisis alone. ELBA, along with many of our corporate partners are actively working with various food banks based across East London. We wanted to highlight a few of our community partners and the work they are doing to support their local communities.

Rainham food bank, based in Havering, has been feeding and supporting over 10,000 local people in crisis since its inception in 2011. Along with having received, packaged and donated over 95 tonnes worth of food Rainham Foodbank are also supporting individuals to address the underlying issues behind their crisis.

Hope Family Trust, based in Barking and Dagenham, started out as Barking Food Bank in 2012 and now provides support for youths, ex-offenders and those who are in crisis. The Food Bank is an integral part of their service and provides nutritiously balanced food parcels, essential toiletries, and household items to individuals and families experiencing food poverty caused by unemployment, low wages, benefit delay/changes, debt, or other personal crisis.

Community Food Enterprise, based in Newham, that works exclusively in East London and helps in the fight against food poverty by sourcing and redistributing food that is surplus to requirements. They are a vanguard, helping to distribute food to over 80 organisations including charities and frontline community organisations that are each fighting against food poverty.

These foodbanks have made a real difference to communities across East London, providing not only food and essentials to families who need it most, but also providing hope, some security and trust during these uncertain times. Many corporate partners set aside their time to volunteer with their teams, which gives these foodbanks the extra hands and support they need to to meet the growing demand.

If you would like to volunteer with ELBA or find out how you can help, please do get in touch at challenge@ellba-1.org.uk.

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