National Food Bank Day is held on the first Friday in September. It is dedicated to raising awareness about food insecurity and the role of food banks in supporting vulnerable communities.
Angela Howe and Jane Barnes from SI Medway and Maidstone were invited to attend. An event held by the Medway Foodbank at the charity’s warehouse on September 6 with more than 40 guests. This included the Mayor and Mayoress of Medway, Council leader Vince Maple, Rochester and representatives from the Medway VCS sector.
Medway Foodbank urged guests to support the Trussell Trust’s Guarantee Our Essentials campaign which calls for Universal Credit to include an Essentials Guarantee.
The charity says this is needed because there is shortfall between people’s living costs and their income which means they cannot always cover the essentials like food, utilities, clothing and transport.
We were able to see hundreds of messages gathered on tablecloths from people explaining the hardship they experience and their hopes for the future.
In November, the messages of hardship will be taken to Westminster by Trussell Trust to highlight the “moral scar” of rising foodbank use and urge the government to introduce an Essentials Guarantee.
To find out more: trusselltrust.org/essentials
