PETA: People for the Ethical, Treatment of Animals Raises awareness and funds to help put an end to unfair treatment and abuse towards animals. Click here to find out more!

UK Foodbanks 13 million people live below the poverty line in the UK. Every day people in the UK go hungry for reasons ranging from redundancy to receiving an unexpected bill on a low income. Trussell Trust foodbanks provide a minimum of three days emergency food and support to people experiencing crisis in the UK. In foodbanks fed 1,084,604 people nationwide. Of those helped, 396,997 were children. Rising food and fuel prices, static incomes, underemployment and changes to benefits are some of the reasons why increasing numbers are being referred to foodbanks for emergency food. The Trussell Trust partners with churches and communities to open new foodbanks nationwide. With over 420 foodbanks currently launched, our goal is for every town to have one. Real life stories For Charlotte, the foodbank was a life saver 21 year-old college student Charlotte had not eaten properly for weeks and could not afford gas to heat her flat when she came to the foodbank in January. After leaving state care she was determined to make something of her life and was funding herself through college. Working two evening jobs to make ends meet, she was made redundant from both within a month. As a 21-year-old in full time education with no children she did not qualify for benefits. She sold everything she had and, with nowhere else to turn, she asked her local councillor for help; they referred her to the foodbank. When she arrived she was ill, dehydrated and in the first stages of malnutrition. For Charlotte, the foodbank was a life saver. She says she has no idea what she would have done without it. She was so impressed by the support she received that she began volunteering at the foodbank. aacf

How a foodbank works Food is donated Schools, churches, businesses and individuals donate non- perishable, in-date food to a foodbank. Large collections often take place as part of Harvest Festival celebrations. Food is also collected at ‘Supermarket Collections’: These are events held at supermarkets where volunteers give shoppers a ‘foodbank shopping list’ and ask them to buy an extra item or two for local people in crisis. Food is sorted and stored Volunteers sort food to check that it’s in date and pack it into boxes ready to be given to people in need. Click here to find out more: