No child should go hungry in the South West

Last week was our Big Breakfast Week, which centred around the growing issue of child hunger in Bristol and the South West. The week aimed to raise awareness of the need for additional food provision in schools where children are regularly arriving hungry, undernourished and unable to learn.

Top chefs, including Michelin-starred Josh Eggleton of the Pony and Trap, Adrian Kirikmaa from St Monica Trust, Toby Gritten and Luke Hawkins came together at a fundraiser breakfast on Monday 12th November, along with business leaders in the city, to support the launch of the charity’s Big Breakfast Week. 

Nick and his team at the Bristol Fruit Market kindly hosted the morning, which brought people together to talk about the issue and find out about the ways local companies could support our charity. Josh and Adrian cooked up some delicious food, and Wogan’s Coffee provided us with some quality caffeine for the early start!

The fundraiser breakfast was just the beginning of activities, as chefs then went out into the city throughout the week to run smoothie making workshops at FareShare Breakfast Clubs in schools in the most deprived areas of Bristol.

12 schools took part across the city, and each hosted a special chef guest for the morning. The children chopped up fruit and veg themselves and tasted different smoothies- some with weird and wonderful ingredients!

Josh Eggleton said “We’re waking up to the fact that child hunger is a city-wide problem, and projects like FareShare South West need to be supported by everyone in Bristol to help make change happen. It was amazing to be part of the Big Breakfast Week, especially making lots of healthy smoothies with kids at Breakfast Clubs!”

 

Julian Mines, CEO here at FareShare South West, said “Child hunger is truly a city-wide problem, and we are calling on Bristol for support in providing a city-wide solution. Our charity’s aim is to get as much food as we can into the networks that matter, from Breakfast Clubs to children’s centres, to ensure no child goes hungry. With support, we can really change the picture on food poverty.”

One in four Bristol children at risk of hunger

According to a report by the 5K Partnership, one in four Bristol children are at risk of experiencing hunger. In response to this, FareShare South West now provides food to 20 primary schools in Bristol’s most deprived areas, in addition to extra provision over the holidays. 

Our charity deliver food for Breakfast Clubs, emergency food parcels for struggling parents and more, providing an invaluable resource for 1,500 Bristol children every school day and 2,000 children over the summer holidays.

Our Big Breakfast Appeal was launched to the Bristol public in the hope of raising awareness and in the hope of receiving further donations to support food distribution to schools. For more information and donate, visit: www.justgiving.com/campaign/bigbreakfast