It isn’t right that anyone should need to use a foodbank. Sadly many in our city do, with over 2,700 emergency food parcels being given out every week in Liverpool. At Feeding Liverpool, we continue to campaign to end the root causes of poverty whilst ensuring people have good food at points of crisis.

Since 2020, we have partnered with some of Liverpool’s largest emergency food networks and providers to boost their emergency parcels with fresh fruit and vegetables over the winter months (December – March). Last winter, we boosted 16,333 emergency food parcels, supporting 14,188 people – including 4,320 children.

Beginning in December 2024, we will again be partnering with member organisations to support people in crisis this winter. The Winter Boost Project aims to improve the quality of emergency food parcel provision during the winter months for households experiencing an acute food crisis, and increase the quantity and quality of household diets during this period – including boosting vital vitamin and mineral intake.

If you’d like to support the Winter Boost Project and our broader work towards Good Food For All, please give through our appeal or contact Gentian Khan.

Hear from Cheryl and Sikarthmi about the difference the Winter Boost Project makes:

Cheryl’s Story:

Cheryl – aged 51 from Toxteth – is a mother of two and has 4 grandchildren. One daughter and granddaughter depend on her. Cheryl had been working as a nurse and began working as a cleaner before the pandemic to fill financial gaps. After some time, the work fizzled out and Cheryl and her family were back to square zero. This put them into poverty right at the time when her daughter and granddaughter had no income.

Cheryl was reluctant to use foodbanks as it is all tinned food, which can have an imapct on her allergies. Since she uses her food as medicine, she finds that she gets sick really quick when she relies on tins.

Having fresh fruit and vegetables in their food parcel means Cheryl’s family are eating nutritious food and their immune systems are boosted. Cheryl says: “We need our immuntiies boosting during this season anyway. Even without Covid, it’s flu and cold season, so we need a strong system.”

Sikarthmi’s Story:

After leaving Sri Lanka, Liverpool has been home to Sikarthmi and her five children – aged 2, 5, 9, 10 and 15 years old – for the last 8 years. Since her husband left, she has struggled financially and her spousal visa has expired. Her and her family’s future feels uncertain.

Her children love the fresh fruit and vegetables they receive at the foodbank. In the evenings, they will eat fresh carrots and peppers, dipping them in yoghurt.

Sikarthmi says: “The foodbanks feels like a family. It is more than the food I receive: it is a place where I feel loved and accepted, giving me the strength to face the road ahead.”