When the term ends, so does the food support that schools offer- such as Breakfast Clubs, After School Clubs or food parcels. For some families, the 6-week long summer holidays can be a challenging time when food insecurity becomes an acute issue.

In response to this, FareShare South West is preparing for a very busy summer in 2019, more than doubling the food we get into children’s holiday projects across the region. We are aiming to redistribute enough surplus food for over 30,000 meals- and we need to work in partnership to make this happen.

In Bristol, where 1 in 4 children are estimated to be at risk of hunger, we are working with another local charity called Feeding Bristol to extend our impact as much as possible and remove barriers to food distribution. Set up in 2017, Feeding Bristol provides a platform for driving a collaborative, city-wide approach to reducing food insecurity. They work with all sectors of the city (business, charity, public sector and faith), supporting local charities, grassroots projects and organisations to deliver long-term solutions towards zero hunger.

Working with Feeding Bristol will allow us to:

• Communicate our offer of food support to more Bristol projects
• Secure significant financial support from Bristol businesses
• Facilitate catering hubs and chefs to bridge the gap for projects who cannot prepare meals in-house
• Source volunteers to get more food direct to partner projects

Andy Street, Founder and Chair of Feeding Bristol, said: “Feeding Bristol was set up with the overarching vision of a zero-hunger city. To make this a reality we need to bring all sectors of our city together, including working with established local charities to extend and join up existing solutions. Working with FareShare South West as the key food provider, we can help remove barriers to food provision in front line projects, ensuring Bristol is doing the maximum to stop children going hungry this summer.”

Through working with Feeding Bristol along with around 40 local holiday projects in Bristol alone such as Bristol Playbus, Youth Moves or Ambition Lawrence Weston, we hope to have a far greater impact on the Holiday Hunger issue this summer.
Our partnership with Feeding Bristol runs in parallel with our normal summer operations, which extend well beyond Bristol across Bath, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Somerset.

If you know a South West children’s holiday project which could benefit from our food, please get in touch to find out how we could support you.