Posts in '2018'

Until you understand the true magnitude of a problem, you cannot effectively solve it. That’s why this week, as part of End Hunger UK, a coalition of organisations trying to eliminate hunger, we released figures on the scale of hidden hunger in this country. The findings are shocking. Over 1 in 10 adults are skipping meals because of lack of money. When you look at parents with children aged 18 and under, that rises to 1 in 4.

To anyone who has spent any time in a foodbank, however, these findings will not be a surprise. What is happening up and down the country is mirrored in our network of over 400 foodbanks. (more…)

Read:

• The executive summary 
• The full report: Disability, Health & Hunger  

We’re committed to ending the need for foodbanks in the UK and moving towards a future where nobody is left with no money and nowhere else to turn. But how do we get there from here, a country where in the last year almost 1.2 million three day emergency food supplies were given to people by foodbanks in our network? (more…)

I’ve now worked for Trussell Trust for 7 months. I had another of what I think of as my ‘reality of foodbank’ moments today.

We were in a meeting with someone who wanted information about how a Trussell Trust foodbank works. As we explained the model that we use, causes of food poverty and talked through some statistics of foodbank use in Northern Ireland and the wider UK network, I was again experiencing the contrast of feeling that comes with this job.

Working with foodbanks is simultaneously saddening, infuriating, uplifting and inspiring. Working with people of such passion and commitment to serving and helping those in crisis in their community is humbling and challenging. Engaging with the causes and reality of food poverty in 21st century Northern Ireland is shocking and crushing. (more…)

Chris has been an integral part of The Trussell Trust from the early days, helping to steer it from a small local charity to one which has a major impact in the UK serving those in poverty. During his time he has been passionate about this and also the work which started in Bulgaria, the initial reason for the formation of the Trust. Chris has been a trustee since 2003, several of those as Chair of the Board during the time of rapid expansion of the foodbank network.

He has decided it is time for him to step back from The Trussell Trust to allow him to concentrate on his work with the Foundation for Social Change and Inclusion which now operates in The Balkans as well as in Bulgaria, continuing the work started back in 1997.

Liz Pollard, Chair of Trustees said:

“Chris has been instrumental in shaping The Trussell Trust into an organisation that now provides a lifeline for tens of thousands of people in crisis across the UK each year through our network of foodbanks. It has been a privilege to work alongside him and I wish him all the best as he pursues new challenges in the future.”