Despite the UK being the sixth richest country in the world, 2.5m children (19%) continue to live in ‘food insecure’ households.
A ‘food insecure’ household is where families do not have enough money to buy sufficient food or the right ingredients to achieve a balanced diet. According to Little Kickers, the number of ‘food insecure’ households is at its highest total in over a decade.
Little Kickers joined forces with LACA (The school Food People) and school food service specialists Bidfood to launch a Just Giving page.
An initial donation of £2,500 by Little Kickers head office equates to 100 Christmas hampers. Every family hamper will include a 800g turkey breast, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, sprouts, stuffing mix, gravy granules, a Christmas pudding, mince pies and cream.
Stanschus and the Little Kickers team, commented: “If feeling constantly hungry and lethargic wasn’t already crippling enough, there’s the uncomfortable truth that children who are denied access to basic nutritious meals for any length of time are far more susceptible to suffocating bouts of anxiety, depression and self-loathing, which not only affects a child’s short-term ability to succeed in the classroom, but their longer-term life prospects.
“Worse yet is the uncomfortable reality that brooding anger, resentment, despair and stigma, if left unchecked, can rapidly escalate into increasingly aggressive and unavoidable bouts of reckless anti-social behaviour that can have long-term and permanent implications.”