News / Child Hunger
Grassroots action to ensure children in Bristol don’t go hungry
When Laura Bennett saw photos of the meagre amount being distributed to children entitled to free school meals, she knew she couldn’t sit back and do nothing.
“It made me feel sick to my stomach,” says the marketing manager, referring to photo of supplies provided to families that were shared on social media, sending shockwaves around the country.
The Portishead-based mum, known on Instagram as mama.massive, felt compelled to take action and launched a fundraising campaign to provide people in need with food vouchers, raising more than £2,000 in just 24 hours.
is needed now More than ever
“When I saw the picture, I thought what would I do if I had to feed my daughter, Ophelia, from that,” says Laura.
“I know that I could not see that and do nothing.”
Laura Bennett’s Instagram appeal – image shared by Laura Bennett
The response has been overwhelming and Laura has already sent more than 100 food vouchers to struggling families, staying up until 3am in order to get through all of the requests in her inbox.
She did not envision getting such a positive reaction straight away but says that as long as donations keep coming in, she will keep buying food vouchers for anyone who needs them.
“I don’t want it to pick up, because we should not have to do this, we should not have to pick up after the government’s shortfallings,” adds Laura, who is continuing her mission alongside working fulltime and looking after five-year-old Ophelia.
She is taking donations via a PayPal account set up specially and will be publishing all receipts to ensuring the entire process is transparent, with every penny that’s donated accounted for. But her immediate concern is to respond to the requests for help as fast as she can.
To support Laura’s campaign or to request food vouchers, contact her via Instagram, @mama.massive, or email mamamassive@gmail.com.
https://twitter.com/RoadsideMum/status/1348646428084760576
The outcry over the free school meals parcels has prompted yet another u-turn from the Government, with a promised return to a voucher system rather than food bags provided by a privately contracted company.
In Barton Hill, as in many Bristol neighbourhoods, work to plug the gaps for the families struggling to make ends meet has been ongoing since the first national lockdown.
Alongside work to get food and educational equipment to those in need, three mums launched Sunday Kitchen, a community initiative to provide hot food for families in the area.
Deniece Dixon, Samira Musse and Debbie Benjamin are running the project from Cafe Conscious on Avonvale road, which is owned by Deniece.
Tweeting on Tuesday, Samira highlighted the struggles faced by many families in the area.
“Many of these families need immediate support as lockdown continues,” said the mum and community activist.
“Lockdown has meant their income is very limited. Many of these families have been out of work for many months, with little support and limited access to services.
“Given that it is winter, and lockdown doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon, we believe these families need hot meals more than ever. Please give what you can so we can carry on feeding our community.”
Support the Sunday Kitchen project via www.gofundme.com/f/feeding-vulnerable-families-in-barton-hill.
The Plough, Easton Cowboys & Cowgirls Sports and Social Club, The Pipe & Slippers, The Lion, The Love Inn & the Star and Garter pooled their efforts to launch a community care package scheme in the midst of the pandemic.
A fundraising drive launched to enable them to keep the scheme running has now reached almost £50,000.
A photo shared this week by street artist Inkie, among others, demonstrated the disparity between the boxful of free produce put together by volunteers for £5 compared to the parcels being sent out as free school meals.
Support the Community Care Package scheme via www.fundsurfer.com/crowdfund/community-care-package.
Almost £50,000 has been raised to keep the Community Care Package scheme running – photo by Yvonne Deeney
Read more: How three women came together to feed residents in Barton Hill
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