Let's Break South West Holiday Hunger

Aim

Summer is the longest period without free school meals. We're working to get local surplus food where it should be - on children's plates.

1 in 4 children are currently living in food poverty in the South West. And with the summer holidays approaching fast, many families will struggle further, facing the longest period of the year without childcare and free school meals.

We have a solution on our doorstep. But we need your help. Tonnes of good quality nutritious food is going to waste just around the corner. Donate today and your gift can help save this quality food from landfill, getting it where it should be – on children’s plates.

Thanks to generous match funding from Aviva, any donation made today will be DOUBLED, at no extra cost to you. 

With your help, we’ll be sourcing and redistributing food to kids' clubs, community groups, and charities in Devon, Cornwall, Bristol, Gloucestershire and Somerset. We believe a child’s school holiday should be for rest, play and seeing friends. Your gift will ensure children can play on a full stomach, while alleviating parent’s anxiety of putting another meal on the table.

You’ll be feeding children like those at Eastville Park Holiday Club

For many children, holiday clubs are an essential way to access food, fun and friendship over the summer. Naomi runs a holiday club for children usually receiving free school meals. Your gift will ensure we can deliver surplus food to clubs like Naomi’s, providing lunch, snacks and food based activities.

“Some of the families are not getting three meals a day over summer. With our FareShare South West delivery, there is often enough food to send some home with families or provide extra snacks for the children going hungry” says Naomi.

The holiday club aims to get children off digital devices, encouraging them to explore nature around them while providing nourishing meals to stay happy and healthy. Whether making colourful veg kebabs or learning which snacks to grow at home, the kids love taking part in creative cooking workshops and learning about healthy eating.

You’ll be saving surplus like Yeo Valley yogurts and locally grown Riverford vegetables

When damage occurs to a single yogurt in a pack, that pack can no longer be sold. For many food producers like our friends at Yeo Valley, it’s more cost effective to take a damaged pack out of the system - even when the remaining five items are still safe to eat. Rather than this going in the bin, your donation means Yeo Valley can collect the remaining sealed yogurts and send them to us for redistribution.

For farmers like those at Riverford Organic, unpredictable weather conditions can cause bumper crops at any time. Rather than ploughing it back into the soil your gift will ensure farmers have the option of harvesting their veg, knowing their surplus can reach people down the road that need it most.

Your gift makes transporting, safely storing, and delivering this quality fresh food to our charities possible. By donating and doubling your gift today, you’re preventing the food’s carbon footprint from being wasted too – creating a more circular food system and tackling the climate crisis.

Thank you for helping us break holiday hunger this summer. To find out more about FareShare South West and keep up to date with the impact of this project please join our newsletter here. 

This project successfully funded on 16th August 2023