We spoke to Allison Todd, co-founder and CEO of Mercy in Action about what Christmas can mean for families they support in Bath:

“Christmas. The children are eagerly looking forward to ‘the most wonderful time of the year’ whilst far too many parents in the South West are anxious and worried about how they can fulfil that expectation. We all know that families are already struggling to make ends meet and Christmas adds to the pressure. Mix in no free school meals or breakfast clubs that they may usually depend on; there’s still another week until payday and suddenly the ‘nightmare before Christmas’ becomes reality. “

“We don’t have a magic wand to wave, we can’t make everything ok, but thanks to FareShare South West we can ensure there is food on the table. “

Allison Todd works for Mercy in Action, a Bath-based charity that works tirelessly to tackle poverty both here in the South West and in the Philippines. We’ve been supplying weekly food to their young mothers’ housing support project, The Petra Project in early 2019. 6 months ago, thanks to funding from St John’s Foundation, we were also able to launch food provision to their brand new ‘Action Pantry’ scheme.

The Pantry model is a shop-like set up where struggling families and individuals are able to come each week to get quality food at a fraction of the cost. Unlike food banks, people can access chilled foods like fresh meat, dairy products and fruit and vegetables, along with wraparound support that will ultimately help to lift them out of food poverty over time.

Without charity partners like Mercy in Action, who work collaboratively with us through the ups and downs of surplus food, we wouldn’t be able to get good food to those most in need, at Christmas or at any other time of the year. Thanks to amazing people like Allison, our food is delivered with care and support.

Do you know a charity that could work with us? Get in touch to find out more about how we work: click here.