Warm Belly, Warm Feet, Warm Heart.
…it’s exactly what it says on the tin!
The cost-of-living crisis is affecting everyone one way or another. People who have never had to worry about how they’re going feed their family, or if they can afford heating, are suddenly having to adjust to a new way of living. This was backed up in a recent report by IFAN which stated
“25% of people currently using foodbanks have never had to use them before”.
Since our beginnings, making sure children have access to a hot, nutritious meal has always been a part of our core offer. With each meal costing us around £2.50 to provide, we have never charged young people more than £1. If cost was still a barrier, we would provide that meal free of charge.
However, as a children’s charity, we’ve always strived to adapt to the needs of young people and to the needs of their families. At a time when the CEO of Trussell Trust has been cited saying that they are being told
"parents are skipping meals in order to feed their children and are turning off essential appliances so they can afford internet access for homework",
we knew we needed to do more to try to relieve some pressure.
Thanks to @Heinz, we can make a new promise to young people; in addition to the already free fruit and veg and £1 meals available each session, we will also be providing hot soup free of charge to all for the entirety of winter.
In addition to this, we will also be heading out into the local community and providing this service across the Chorley borough through our new catering van. Stocked with hot soup, hot drinks, and various snacks – we will also be handing out free socks… because, well, you can never have too many socks!
Janine Blythe, CEO, Inspire Youth Zone:
“Campaigns like this don’t just happen. It is thanks to an incredible collaboration of supporters that we can provide such a vital offering to the community that we serve. Our deepest thanks go to; Youth Investment Fund who have funded our catering van, Heinz who have donated an incredible 14 pallets of their soup, @Andrew Porter for the transportation, and Andrew Turner MBE for the donation of socks (and who quite honestly has been the driving force behind this mission!).”
“Campaigns like this don’t just happen. It is thanks to an incredible collaboration of supporters that we can provide such a vital offering to the community that we serve. Our deepest thanks go to; Youth Investment Fund who have funded our catering van, Heinz who have donated an incredible 14 pallets of their soup, @Andrew Porter for the transportation, and Andrew Turner MBE for the donation of socks (and who quite honestly has been the driving force behind this mission!).”So, there you go; we’re providing a warm belly with soup, warm feet with socks, and warming hearts in the process.
