UNITED KINGDOM / AGILITYPR.NEWS / July 02, 2020 / A new programme in Southend to enable families to access good-quality food at a low cost, was launched by Family Action on 1 July.
There will be weekly Food On Our Doorstep (FOOD) clubs in six Children’s Centres run by the charity across Southend:
Natasha Dillow, Family Action FOOD Club Co-ordinator, explains how the programme works:
“Food On Our Doorstep is a membership scheme. Each club costs an annual fee of just £1 to join, and families can then purchase a bag of good quality groceries worth approximately £15 for just £3.50 every week. Membership is open to anyone who lives or works within 15 minutes of the Children’s Centres where the clubs will operate, and have a child or children aged 0-11.”
Family Action has been very successfully running the Food On Our Doorstep programme for nearly two years in Greater Manchester and the South West of England. These clubs have provided a lifeline for hundreds of people throughout the Covid-19 lockdown by providing low-cost food at a time when many families have been struggling financially.
David Holmes CBE, Chief Executive of Family Action, says:
“We are delighted that we are able to open Food On Our Doorstep Clubs across Southend. These Clubs have worked brilliantly in other parts of the country and we wanted to bring them to Southend too. They enable parents to provide their families with a range of high quality food at a low cost and we do everything we can to provide fantastic value for money. Practical help like this makes a big difference to families especially during this challenging time of Covid-19. Working with partners, we are not only supporting families, but are also helping to stop great quality food from being wasted.”
To find out more about the Food On Our Doorstep programme or to learn about volunteering at one of the clubs in Southend please visit our webpage at www.family-action.org.uk/food-club or email SouthendFoodClubs@family-action.org.uk
About Us
Family Action is a national charity committed to building stronger families and brighter lives.
Since the charity was founded in 1869, we have continued to help children and families overcome the challenges they face through a wide range of practical, emotional and financial support. With some 165 community-based services across the UK, we currently support more than 60,000 families each year.
We help families to manage their mental health and wellbeing and to tackle behavioural issues and parenting challenges, family conflict and domestic abuse. We also work with families to reduce the impact of social isolation, poverty, addiction and other significant sources of stress and pressure.
Our work covers the whole life span and includes help for parents-to-be and for parents and carers of children of all ages, a wide range of services for children and young people and services for adults affected by mental ill health. Our family work stretches from intensive whole family support to more targeted services supporting families affected by adoption, special guardianship, separation, special educational needs, disability, domestic violence and sexual abuse.
Based in and working with Children’s Centres, GP surgeries, schools and other local partners, our specialist services include Multi Systemic Therapy, children’s trauma therapy, child to parent violence, social prescribing, supervised child contact and a range of mentoring and befriending services. We also provide thousands of welfare and educational grants every year to people in financial crisis.
Through the National School Breakfast Programme, we provide a healthy breakfast to more than 280,000 pupils every school day. We also offer free and immediate support to adult family members through our national helpline, FamilyLine (via telephone, email, online chat and 24/7 text service), and are recognised as a leading provider of specialist training and consultancy.
During the Covid-19 pandemic Family Action has adapted its service delivery to ensure we are still very much there for the people who rely on us. Many of our services are being delivered virtually and we have prioritised keeping in contact with people. At the same time we have fundraised additional money so that we can greatly expand our network of FOOD Clubs, introduce new services were needed, provide our most vulnerable service users with emergency financial support and distribute other practical resources to help people get through lockdown.
Registered charity number: 264 713
https://www.family-action.org.uk
https://twitter.com/family_action
https://www.facebook.com/familyaction/
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