News / Bristol
Bid to end food poverty in Bristol
A collective of key stakeholders will unite in Bristol as part of a pioneering bid to bring an end to hunger and health inequality.
Currently, more than 20,000 people use a food bank each year in the city, a place in which 25 per cent of children live below the poverty line.
Mayor Marvin Rees slammed this as a moral shame as he, along with MP Kerry McCarthy, announced plans to launch a Feeding Bristol pilot.
is needed now More than ever
“No one should have to worry about where their next meal is coming from, which is why we’re keen to work with partners across the city to look at how we can end hunger and food insecurity for good,” said Rees.
“We know that there are local families struggling with food poverty, and health inequalities are a major issue in our city, so a joined-up approach is absolutely essential if we are to truly start addressing this.”
The launch event, ‘Feeding Bristol: how can we work together to end hunger and food insecurity in Bristol?’ will be held in City Hall on Friday and brings together a diversity of organisations and people, from welfare advice agencies and food banks, to schools and food growing projects.
The aim is to provide an opportunity to hear from frontline organisations and to decide on activities the city can take forward together for alleviating hunger and reducing vulnerability to hunger.
Feeding Bristol will link into the national Feeding Britain programm
Volunteers at Bristol North West food bank
Redistribution of food to help address widespread hunger is something McCarthy, the MP for Bristol East, has long fought for.
She said: “We have an opportunity to forge an alliance of people within the city committed to reducing food poverty in our city in the months and years ahead.
“We hope that this project will lead to joint activities and partnerships that will make a measurable difference to people’s lives, to move to a place where everyone has access to good food and nobody goes to bed hungry”.
Andy Street, chair of Feeding Bristol, said the pilot provides a unique opportunity to bring together all stakeholders, to work in partnership so as to address once and for all the issues of food poverty and inequality across the city.
To register for a place at Friday’s event, visit: www.bit.ly/feedingbristol
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