Helping people experiencing poverty

Photo credit: Sufra

It’s estimated that more than 3 million people in Britain are going hungry because of the coronavirus crisis

There was a growing dependence on food banks and rising homelessness in the UK before coronavirus, but now the situation has worsened.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, people have lost their jobs or experienced a drop in income. Children have lost access to free school meals, the elderly and vulnerable have been unable to leave their homes, with many looking for help to feed themselves and their families.

This has pushed many more people into poverty. People who have never joined a food bank queue before are now finding they are unable to support their families.

This is putting an enormous strain on charities that provide food banks. Many are seeing a huge demand for their service. London based charity, Sufra, has reported a 371% increase for food support year on year.  

Small and local charities play a crucial role in distributing food to vulnerable people in need in their communities – including those who are unable to afford food, are homeless or confined to their homes because they are the most vulnerable.

Global’s Make Some Noise funds charities like Family Gateway which provides free nutritious meals to disadvantaged families across the North East. In the past 10 weeks alone, they’ve provided 15,000 home-cooked meals! 

Working to address food poverty and malnutrition amongst children, Family Gateway is providing three meals per week to feed whole families.

The impacts of coronavirus will be felt long-term for many families now plunged into poverty.

Families that were previously making progress out of poverty will have regressed and need a huge amount of support to build resilience and recover.

These problems will place even more demand on charities like Family Gateway from families in need of urgent help.

You can help those hit hardest by coronavirus.