My name is Simon and for the past few years I have managed the Southwark Foodbank. I've seen many things in my time there but the past year has been nothing like anything we've experienced before. 

We are so inspired by the many people supporting our foodbank, that myself and my family; Abigail, Hannah, Paul, and Ben, decided to do the Hackney Half Marathon together to raise awareness and support for something that is so much a part of our lives.

Our local community has really struggled, with so many more people facing poverty and sudden crisis than we could have anticipated. But even in the most challenging parts, others around us have pulled together to support and we've been so overwhelmed with the kindness and generosity of our community to help those in crisis over the pandemic. 

We know we have a long way to go before we can see an end to hunger in the UK, but hope that by doing our bit and raising funds for the foodbank, which I know from experience adds so much value to our work, we can make sure that people in Southwark don't slip through the cracks and get the support they need to get out of crisis.

The Southwark Foodbank supported 18,978 people (7,089 children and 11,889 adults) with emergency food parcels from April 2020 to March 2021

If you want to find out more, you can visit the Southwark Foodbank website: https://southwark.foodbank.org.uk/ 

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