Don’t turn your back on food poverty: London charity raises £1.1 million in 36-hour campaign
Food Bank Aid works across boroughs including Camden, Barnet and Hackney and was supported by more than 5,500 donations
A charity supporting more than 20 food banks across north London has raised £1.1million in a 36-hour fundraising drive.
Food Bank Aid received more than 5,500 donations, going above the original target of £1million.
The charity was founded by Hampstead Garden suburb resident Naomi Russell, who started the charity in her garage, turning it into a distribution centre, in March 2020.
Over 30 schools also participated in the run up to the campaign, and over 10,000 children watched a video produced by Food Bank Aid for school children, as well as wearing ‘Don’t Turn Your Back’ stickers on their backs, to help raise the issues the community is facing around food poverty.
Every donation was doubled by generous matchers, and 100% of monies is being spent on food and goods for the food banks. The further £100k raised during the bonus round is being used for extra food for school holidays.
Since inception, Food Bank Aid has distributed more than £3 million of foods and goods. Through their network of food banks they support more than 14,000 people weekly, 4,000 of whom are children. They deliver almost 65,000 items weekly.
Naomi Russell, founder, Food Bank Aid, said: “With food and non-alcoholic drink prices now at their highest rate in over 45 years, the pressure on charities like ours is ever-growing. Our recent ‘Don’t Turn Your Back’ 36-hour campaign raised an incredible £1.1m to help ease this – but without the generous support of our local communities, the truth is, we would buckle.”
Dalia Davis, CEO, told Jewish News: “We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support by the local communities. More than 5,500 donations brought in by 415 teams, 10,000 children wearing stickers in support of the campaign, this shows how wonderful the community is, and how people are taking action to alleviate the injustice of food poverty faced by so many people today.”
Food Bank Aid works specifically in the boroughs of Camden, Islington, Barnet, Harrow, Hackney, Harringey and Enfield. The charity also works with 80 local schools – visiting them and help them understand food poverty and what can be done to alleviate it.
To donate to the appeal, please follow www.charityextra.com/foodbankaid
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