On the 20th May 2020 join the Great British Fast for Food Banks

Donate the price of a meal (or more) to the Trussell Trust today!

The national press have reported that, due to COVID-19, the number of people forced into hardship has increased. Use of Food Banks has in some cases more than doubled.

At the same time, due to the lockdown, donations have slowed.

We have to come together as a country and make sure support is there to protect people from food poverty during this emergency!

It also happens to be the month of Ramadan, when people of the Muslim faith refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk. Given the nature of the crisis, it seemed a fitting theme for this fundraising effort.

Please donate the price of a meal (or more) to the Trussell Trust today, and if you can, on Wednesday the 20th May 2020, people of all faiths and those of no faith, try and fast in support of those in the UK and around the world who are having to go without.

Once you have donated, tag in at least 5 of your friends and get them to join you in making this a huge national effort.

What does a fast entail? Well, traditionally, going without food or drink from sunrise to sunset (Google can tell you the times). If that seems a bit much, simply sacrifice whatever you are comfortable with, even if that's just your second Double Decker from the tuck shop at elevenses.

Of course, you don't have to fast if you don't want to, or if you have a medical condition, are taking medication, are pregnant, or really just find it too daunting an ordeal, please do not fast, but still please make whatever donation you feel comfortable making.

However much we raise for Food Banks is better than nothing!

Let's try to get these hashtags trending on social media with stories about what you are giving up, how your fast was, ideas, thoughts, videos and good wishes - and let's just see what happens.

#GreatBritishFast

#fast4foodbanks

If this is successful as a campaign, perhaps we can run it again, maybe even one day a month, for as long as the Trussell Trust is needed in the UK to prevent people from falling into such hardship.

With Grace, who knows what we might achieve together.

The below is a message from the Trussell Trust so you can see the incredible work they do and the challenges they are facing.

.......

More and more people are being forced to use food banks because they cannot afford the basics in life. Last year, food banks in the Trussell Trusts network provided 1.6 million three-day emergency food parcels to people in crisis, with over 500,000 of these going to children. This was an increase of almost 20% on the previous year. Now, as the Coronavirus pandemic develops, its likely that increasing numbers of people will need support from their local food bank.

As food bank staff and volunteers work to source and distribute food to people who need support, their resources are becoming increasingly stretched as they come under additional pressure.Were working closely with our network of over 1,200 food banks to work out how we can best support each food bank in the coming months to make sure that they're able to continue to help people in crisis in their local communities.

Our team aims to support the Trussell Trust for as long as their is a need for food banks in the UK.