We are delighted to announce that FareShare South West has been successful in securing a grant of £20,000 from St John’s Foundation in Bath.

The funding will be used to significantly expand our work tackling child hunger in Bath and North East Somerset. While we already work with various organisations across the BANES area, including those working with children such as Bath Area Play Project and Three Ways School, this funding will allow us to support more vulnerable families effectively. Thanks to the support from St John’s, we plan to launch a pilot project based on our 2018 model in Bristol, which brings a joined-up approach to tackling the issue of child hunger.

Julian Mines, CEO at FareShare South West, says: “Expanding our reach further into Bath and North East Somerset is in direct response to the rise in child hunger across the region. We are delighted and grateful that St John’s Foundation has provided the funding needed to launch the first phase of this project. We’ll now be looking to identify schools, breakfast clubs, youth clubs, holiday projects and other charities or organisations who may benefit from our redistributed surplus food, with the aim of ensuring fewer children in the region go hungry as a result of food poverty. We also hope to establish a brand-new initiative in Bath with our ‘pantry model’ supermarket. We anticipate that this will run like a food bank, but with fresh produce available, whilst appearing much like a shop. We will be looking for a host organisation already established in the community from which to launch this particular element of the project. We can’t wait to get started.”

If you know of a BANES organisation working with children who could use food support, please get in touch at info@faresharesouthwest.org.uk.