Instead of sending Christmas cards this year we have donated to two very worthwhile charities, you can find out more about them below.
Magic Breakfast are a brilliant charity who ensure that no child in their partner schools is too hungry to learn by providing healthy breakfast food as well as expert support to help identify and reach those pupils at risk of hunger. A hungry child cannot concentrate so could miss out on half a day of lessons every school day if not given anything nutritious to eat first thing.
Formed as a charity in 2003 Magic Breakfast now works with over 1,000 schools throughout the UK offering breakfasts to over 200,000 children. The idea is simple (and the survey data backs it up!)
partner schools see a positive impact on students’ educational attainment (83%), concentration (95%), energy levels (94%) and readiness to learn (94%). Most schools also report improved attendance, punctuality, behaviour and social skills as tangible benefits of breakfast provision, as well as positive influences on mental wellbeing and physical health.
Magic Breakfast nutritionists ensure that food provided is low in sugar, salt and fat.
In the academic year 2020/21 Magic Breakfast provided:
9,426,223 bagels
834,171 boxes of cereal
4.6 million servings of beans
4.5 million servings of porridge
126,040 litres of juice
Just amazing! You can read more about Magic Breakfast and donate if you wish to here: https://www.magicbreakfast.com/
Hillingdon Foodbank are part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK. Hillingdon Food Bank serves 8 centres including Hayes, West Drayton, Uxbridge and Hillingdon.
Non-perishable, in-date food is donated by the public at a range of places, such as schools, churches, and businesses, as well as supermarket collection points. It is collected and then sorted into emergency food parcels by volunteers, to be given to people in crisis. The food parcels supplied contain at least three days’ worth of nutritionally balanced meals for individuals and families.
More emergency food parcels were given out during the April to September 2022 period than ever before for that time of year. Sadly, over the last six months, more than 320,000 people have been forced to turn to food banks in the Trussell Trust network for the first time.
Between 1 April 2022 and 30 September 2022, food banks in the Trussell Trust’s UK-wide network distributed 1.3 million food parcels to people facing hardship – this is an increase of 52% compared to the same period in 2019. Half a million of these parcels were distributed to children.
For the first time, need for emergency food is outstripping donations as the cost of living emergency is leading to a drastic increase in the number of people turning to food banks for support.
You can donate to the Trussell Trust Emergency Fund appeal here: https://www.trusselltrust.org/appeal/ and find the Hillingdon Foodbank website here: https://hillingdon.foodbank.org.uk/.