There is nothing worse than going hungry, according to The Trussell Trust 1 in 5 people live in poverty in and 12 million people live below the poverty line in the UK. 350,000 people were given 3 days emergency food packets in 2012/13 which nearly tripled a year later.
Why for such a developed country are so many people going hungry?!
The food banks are constantly running low on food whatever the time of the year and not just around Christmas.
Last year I was super proud to know that I'll be able to help someone when I donated bags full of food but it took a chunk out of my money. This year I've decided that I'd be a bit more savvy, I was inspired by other people doing similar things, like the family who donated a item on the run up to christmas instead of having a advent calendar. I also saw a post about food banks on A Thrifty Mrs blog back in 2014 which inspired me to donate for the first time.
My challenge is to donate one item every time I go into a supermarket.
Sounds simple right? Apart from when you forget to pick something up and either have to go back in or make sure you pick 2 things up next time. So far I've donated around 15 items and owe 4.
Donating food has become more convenient as most supermarkets have a big donation basket along with an animal shelter basket. My local supermarket is tesco and they have made a pledge that on top of all the donations tesco with add 30% more food.
Nearly all of the things I've picked up were things that were in a deal. For example if I went into a shop to buy a particular item and it was on buy one get one free I would get two and donate one. Technically I would pay the normal price and be able to donate one for free.
My aim is to do it all throughout the year and because it's one item at a time it won't make a dent in your pocket. At the end of the year I would like to add up all the items I donated and see the difference little and often makes.
For anyone that wants to help but don't think they have the time or funds this could work for you, even if you donate one item from each wage packet or month it's still something.
Are you going to give the food bank challenge a go? I'm definitely going to give it a damn good try. If you want to give it ago make sure to tag me on instagram @the_vegan_mermaid_ or twitter and use #thefoodbankchallenge.
Devon x
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