Our latest 'partner profile' features the charity Miracles, with a specific focus on their project Feed London.
We spoke to Lorraine Wood, Feed London Casework Coordinator, who gives us the lowdown on this important initiative.
Organisation name: Miracles - Project name is Feed London
Describe your organisation: Miracles supports children and their families living in poverty and helps them through crisis situations such as serious illness.
Feed London was launched during Christmas 2020 in response to the Covid19 pandemic, to tackle the sudden increase in food needs of families already in crisis. London currently faces an unprecedented child poverty emergency, with over 700,000 children affected. We focus on those London boroughs with the highest child poverty rates, where health and wealth disparities are most pronounced. Feed London steps in when families are at breaking point.
By focusing on the social determinants of health - particularly food precarity - Feed London aims to break the cycle of poverty by helping to create stable home environments, reducing stress on families, supporting physical and mental development and improving long-term outcomes for vulnerable children.
Who are the people you typically support?
First and foremost, we support London families living in poverty and facing a significant crisis such as serious illness, severe depression or isolation brought about through health conditions, as well as those families whose lives have been negatively impacted by Covid and/or the cost-of-living crisis e.g. through loss of earnings, isolation, poor health, restriction in movement etc.
Many of these families will have no recourse to public funds. Many are also single parents, migrants or women and children taking refuge from domestic violence. We also support young carers – particularly those who are – or feel - isolated from their local community.
What are the key challenges that those people face?
Food insecurity is a key challenge common to all the families we support, especially during school holidays when there is no access to free school meals.
Related challenges include the threat of malnutrition (affecting concentration and performance, especially where other stress factors are already at play in the home environment) as well as access to good quality, nutritious food (especially essential for children receiving treatment or recovering from illness). Food donated to food banks can be highly processed – high in salt, fats and sugars.
What specific support do you provide?
We believe that a safe and secure home must provide for a child's basic needs, including consistent access to nutritious food. Feed London tackles this by providing essential food boxes containing fresh, healthy ingredients for at least six main meals, along with child-friendly recipes and a £50 supermarket voucher - all delivered at the start of school holidays to ensure children have a healthy, positive break.
Unlike food banks, our boxes are filled with minimally processed ingredients which are low in salt, trans fats, and sugars. Additionally, the inclusion of child-friendly recipes and creative activities promotes healthy eating habits and engages children in cooking and fostering a love for nutritious food from a young age.
By working with a network of referral partners in London, we are able to reach deep into each borough and community and target the most vulnerable children in these areas. Our partners include Tower Hamlets Council's Leaving Care Service, Targeted Youth Support, Early Help & Children and Families Service, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Hackney Ark, Young Lives vs Cancer, Hestia, IKWRO, Haringey Council's Park Lane Children's Centre, Barking and Dagenham Council’s Specialist Intervention Service, Islington Children’s Service Bright Start, amongst others.
What is the impact of the clothing gift cards we provide for your service users?
Clothing cards support our users when all available money has already gone towards other basics such as food, appliances and travel. They make a crucial difference in helping to keep children warm and dry – especially important when so many families are experiencing fuel poverty - making choices between heating and eating. They can mean having access to clean, tidy clothes for job interviews etc, helping to provide a sense of dignity, choice and confidence.
The clothing cards encourage taking an interest and pride in appearance and support good mental health. They can mean the difference between shoes that fit and those that don’t; that keep the rain out and are comfortable and healthy for feet.
This all contributes to the physical nourishment children need to thrive and aligns with Feed London’s vision - where Feed London bridges a gap by providing meals during school holidays, Clothing Collective does same with essential clothing needs.
Support us in providing gift cards to Miracles and other organisations like them.
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