To raise donations for Lewes District Emergency Food Projects which support over 500 households access food every single week.
by Lewes District Emergency Food Network in Lewes, East Sussex, United Kingdom
Wow! We've smashed our original target - thank you!
Unfortunately funding for food projects is hard to come by, so any additional help is extremely needed. The Government announced in their Autumn Statement that they would be ending the Household Support Fund which had been offering some support directly to residents as well as providing a small amount of funding to projects like food banks.
The Emergency Food Network is a network of projects helping people access food across Lewes District. We are the food banks, community supermarkets, and food waste hubs that work directly with households experiencing food poverty in Newhaven, Lewes, Peacehaven, Seaford and rural areas.
Some community food projects in Lewes District have seen more than a 60% increase in their membership in a year. In previous years, reasons for needing to access food support were often benefit sanctions or a change in circumstances, now we are seeing more people who simply cannot afford the increasing cost of living.
Unfortunately lots of community food projects are reporting that donations are down and they are struggling to support increasing numbers of families.
If you are in the position to do so, we're asking for small donations which can have a big impact on those in our communities worried about where their next meal will come from.
Below is a quote from a resident of Lewes District about the psychological impacts of relying on food support:
The Emergency Food Network (EFN) offers support to projects working on the frontline of the Cost-of-Living Crisis and reliant on volunteers. Not only are community food projects providing a vital lifeline in the form of food, they are often safe community spaces that people have become reliant on when experiencing other crises such as mental health, loneliness, isolation.
The EFN advocates for change, raises awareness and challenges misconceptions about poverty. The EFN sits within the wider work of Lewes District Food Partnership which is working on ensuring people are able to ask for help and are treated with dignity when they do so. There are also projects such as the Feeling the Pinch Project which amplify the voices of Lewes District residents who have experienced food insecurity, to ensure we are hearing directly from the people impacted.
Last year we raised over £5,000 at Christmas for the Community Food projects in the EFN thanks to the generosity of our communities. One year later and we're afraid to say we're facing an even deeper crisis with most food projects reporting huge increases in spending and in membership numbers, and a reduction in donations.
Money raised will be divided between the projects in the Emergency Food Network which can be seen here.