Aberdeen Zero Hunger Project

Aim

Help us feed 3,000 Aberdeen Families in need by raising £20,000 to purchase food items for 2,000 emergency food parcels

Touch of Love Outreach is a registered Scottish Charitable organisation helping to relieve those in need by reason of age, ill-health, disability or financial hardship. We are building a community where people experiencing severe hunger and poverty can access help, care and love with no guilt or stigma.

Our first strategic objective is the relief of poverty and need in particular by the provision of nutritious food and other basic amenities to families suffering from disadvantage and social isolation. Our mission is to ensure greater numbers of individuals and families within Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire receive appropriate quantities of nutritious food, emotional support and additional wrap-around services, helping them to maintain their physical health and mental wellbeing. 

 We help to feed local Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire homes experiencing real hardship by meeting their most basic need for food through a home delivery of weekly provision of 3 days emergency food supplies while a longer-term solution is developed. We deliver food parcels weekly to an average of 50 families struggling with severe food insecurity within Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. 

 We help anybody who needs our support, young, old, single proper and families from all backgrounds, religious beliefs and ethnic origins, without prejudice. We also reach out to young people and children from families in need within Aberdeen by meeting their most basic needs of food and clothing. There is no charge for our food supplies.

We provide both warm meals and raw foods in our weekly food parcels. Our weekly parcels do include but not limited to Bread, Milk, Eggs, Cheese, Potatoes, Cereal, Soup, Fresh Fruits, Several Tinned Soups.

To date we have distributed over 80,000 items of food to 650 families (2000 persons including 600 children) with the help of 2 staff and 20 volunteers who deliver food parcels to the homes of these families struggling with severe food insecurity.

About Our Project

Within the city of Aberdeen, we deliver weekly food parcels to 40 - 50 vulnerable families (and average of 145 persons including 43 children). Our weekly parcels do include but not limited to Bread, Milk, Eggs, Cheese, Potatoes, Cereal, Soup, Fresh Fruits, Several Tinned Soups.

We give a minimum of three days’ nutritionally balanced, non-perishable canned and dried food as well as some essential toiletries. The food parcel will include things like cereal, pasta, soup, tinned fruit, tinned meat/fish, long life milk and juice, pasta sauce and toilet roll. There is a given allowance which varies according to the size of household. This will not vary according to donations. We keep a careful record of how much stock comes in and goes out, so if we are running low on stock, we will send out an appeal for more. By giving these weekly parcels we are ameliorating the effect of their financial circumstances while they focus on finding a long-term solution to their problems.  

With the help of Food Surplus Donations from the local Aberdeen super markets We spend an average of £450 /week to make 40 - 50 food parcels at an average rate of £9 per food parcel. totalling £10,800 in 6 months (24 weeks).

Delivery of the parcels are currently done by volunteers who are refunded their mileage costs so they are not out of pocket for their fuel expenses.

And the number of families stretching out hands for these food parcels is only expected to increase, considering the current economic situation in Aberdeen and the huge number job losses. 

Good nutrition is essential during childhood, as it is a time of rapid growth, development and activity. We strongly believe this fund would help us make quality food parcels, which would help ensure vulnerable families receive the right quantities of fresh and nutritious food items especially for children within these vulnerable families. 

Delivery of the Project

1. We go to the people. We always explore our local Aberdeen community Facebook groups or online forums are most active and we start there. We use Facebook groups like "Aberdeen Helping Hands", several buy & Sell groups within Aberdeen, to advertise the free food groceries for families in need - and we have gotten great response and referrals from these media which have over 50,000 active local Aberdonians.

2. We printed flyers and dropped off at some GPs and Pharmacies within Aberdeen, for distribution in order to reach these targeted vulnerable families, and the elderly people within the city.

Criteria for selection of families:

(1) When families see our adverts and approach us for food parcel, we enquire their financial situation before COVID-19 and their current financial situation - and how COVID-19 have impacted this - this helps us to ascertain whether their circumstances was due to COVID-19 and also gives us insight on whether we can offer our post-covid-19 mental health and wellbeing assistance to the family or person. 

(2) We enquire whether someone household already receive Universal Credit, or if someone in the family is already shielded by NHS - This helps us to ensure we help families who are really in need, and have limited access to help.

(3) We ask the age group of members of the household - This helps us to focus on the families with little children. 

Local Volunteering:

We already identified over 20 dedicated local volunteers who are happy to move round the City of Aberdeen every week, sharing food & groceries to these vulnerable families.

Working with our Local City Council: - We volunteered with the Aberdeen City Council to identify vulnerable families in need, and also with Fareshare Grampian through the Community Food Initiatives North East – Aberdeen (CFINE) to access some foods to augment the food items we purchase.

We understand our Audience:

We know the people we are trying to reach are not like us. We also understand food comes on the top of the list of every family, so we talk both in small and large Aberdeen groups, creating awareness of our services, and feeding more families.

Who is this project meant for?

This project is aimed at Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire Families, young people and children going through severe food insecurity by reason of age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage.

We give priorities to families with young children and aged persons.

Find examples of our weekly food posts on Facebook:

Feb 2, 2022:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/touchofloveoutreach/permalink/742487550060670/

Feb 10, 2022:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/touchofloveoutreach/permalink/746711089638316/

Feb 17, 2022 :  https://www.facebook.com/groups/touchofloveoutreach/permalink/750916732551085/  

Feb 24, 2022:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/touchofloveoutreach/permalink/755593922083366/

See examples of confirmation from receipt of food parcels: 

Feb 2:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/touchofloveoutreach/permalink/759162361726522/

Feb 23:  https://www.facebook.com/650303882/videos/481814320076741/

Jan 26:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/touchofloveoutreach/permalink/737994587176633/

Impact of our project :

This project would continue to support individuals and households' food access within Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, potentially maintaining food security and diet quality in the course of their life’s challenges, with priority to families with children. It’s not just about food – it’s about healthy food. That means offering quality food items like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and lean proteins

To date this Zero Hunger project has distributed over 80,000 items of food to 650 families (2000 persons including 600 children) within Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

According to records, 42% of those accessing food parcels through our Zero Hunger Aberdeen project are single parents with children. 26% of people are single people living alone, while the rest 32% are families with young persons and children. One third of those fed by our food parcels every week are children while 77% are adults in the age range 25 to 54 years.

The additional impact of this fund would be continuous weekly distribution of qualify and nutritious food parcels to and average of 50 families per week (145 persons) with prospects of additional 300 – 350 new families supported in the course of this project within the next 6 - 12 months. 

Skills and Experience the Charity have

Touch of Love Outreach started supporting Aberdeen's  families going through severe food insecurity since March 2020 during the first COVID-19 Lockdown. And we have consistently served families week on week for since March 2020 to date. 

This clearly indicates our dedication and commitment to the Aberdeen Zero Hunger Project.  We have a team of very selfless and dedicated volunteers who, at one stage or the other in their lives, have gone through severe food insecurity. So we all understand what Hunger means, especially in children.

Other organisations or groups in Our area

Within the city of Aberdeen, we deliver weekly food parcels to 40 - 50 vulnerable families (and average of 145 persons including 43 children). 

We give a minimum of three days’ nutritionally balanced, non-perishable canned and dried food as well as some essential toiletries. The food parcel will include things like cereal, pasta, soup, tinned fruit, tinned meat/fish, long life milk and juice, pasta sauce and toilet roll. There is a given allowance which varies according to the size of household. This will not vary according to donations. We keep a careful record of how much stock comes in and goes out, so if we are running low on stock, we will send out an appeal for more.

1. We go to the people. We always explore our local Aberdeen community Facebook groups or online forums are most active and we start there. We use Facebook groups like "Aberdeen Helping Hands", several buy & Sell groups within Aberdeen, to advertise the free food groceries for families in need - and we have gotten great response and referrals from these media which have over 50,000 active local Aberdonians.

2. We printed flyers and dropped off at some GPs and Pharmacies within Aberdeen, for distribution in order to reach these targeted vulnerable families, and the elderly people within the city.

3. We get referrals from Aberdeen's Community champions from several Aberdeen-based Charities  who run community groups for families in need.

4. We work with Aberdeen City Council: - We volunteered with the Aberdeen City Council to identify vulnerable families in need, and also with Fareshare Grampian through the Community Food Initiatives North East – Aberdeen (CFINE) to access some foods to augment the food items we purchase, as well as refer less families going through severe food insecurity to us.

This project successfully funded on 20th June 2022