LUCY: THE FOOD BANK CHALLENGE!

With Britain in austerity measures and cuts ever on the increase, more and more families are struggling to make ends meet. Food banks are springing up to help out when things go dramatically wrong. Reader Lucy decided to take up a challenge to donate to her local food bank… could YOU do the same?

Lucy says:

I recently took part in something called the Food Bank Challenge and I wanted to share it with you all. I wanted to help the Food Banks and the people who use them because I couldn't imagine not having any breakfast when I wake up in the morning and then not having any lunch or dinner later. How horrible it must be to be hungry… and yet many people are. I think it is important we donate to people who genuinely need it.
All you have to do to help the Food Banks to help people in need is to go along to your local supermarket and pick up some items that they can use. Things to buy include:

tinned foods
toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, nappies etc)
pasta and pasta sauces
tea bags/ instant coffee
instant mashed potato
tinned rice pudding/ fruit
cereals
milk (powdered or UHT)
sugar
cartons of long life fruit juice
soup
rice
jam
biscuits/snack bars
tinned meat/ fish
biscuits
tomato puree/ tinned tomatoes

All of these can be bought very cheaply if you look for supermarket value ranges, and small bags/ tins/ portions are better than large as they can be distributed to more people. Choose items that can be stored, so no fresh fruit/veg, bread or frozen food! Once you have your supplies, make a quick video of yourself with the items - I just stood in front of my bags of shopping, explained the challenge and nominated three people to do the same. Nominate people from different cities or even countries to spread the love around the world! The challenge was started on Twitter by someone called Barbara Dempsey… it is such a good cause.
As it's a challenge where you nominate people, I nominate everyone reading this! You don't have to spend a lot of money on it… every little helps. Many supermarkets have Food Bank collection points, so you can hand over your donations very easily.

Cathy says:
I love this challenge! My local supermarket has a collection point for the local Food Bank and I try to buy items to donate each time I shop… to make it routine. I hate that people in the UK need to resort to Food Banks in the 21st century, but they do - and it could happen to any one of us. COMMENT BELOW to share if you will be taking the challenge, or even just adding a few items for the Food Bank to your family's weekly shop!