by Grace Uphill | Aug 17, 2022 | Food Poverty, Leftovers, Nutrition, PAM News
As part of our ongoing mission to alleviate food poverty and hunger – and to compensate for technical issues preventing us from receiving donations through the website and app – Provide a Meal has partnered with the team at Neighbourly to deliver surplus food parcels to beneficiaries and needy individuals at the point of need.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Neighbourly helps to connect retail outlets with social enterprises, like Provide a Meal, so that unsold food can be donated free of charge to those who need it. The team at Provide a Meal receive daily notifications for surplus food donations, and work with the outlet to organise a time for collection.
We then work with our network of hostels in the local to supply their residents with a healthy, nutritious range of meals and snacks.
CASE STUDY – PRET A MANGER
Through The Pret Foundation, we have forged a strong relationship with the Pret A Manger shop in Gunwharf Quays. After the shop is closed for business; a variety of salads, rolls, sandwiches and snacks are made available for Provide a Meal to collect to make sure their unsold food goes to those who need it most. These food parcels are then delivered to hostels in the area, including All Saints Hostel in All Saint’s Road, Portsmouth.
This has proven to be a very mutually beneficial and rewarding partnership; and we we are hugely appreciative of the support and commitment shown by The Pret Foundation and Pret A Manger to make this a success.
We are keen to expand and scale this initiative by growing the number of outlets which we receive donations from so that we can serve more hostels and beneficiaries.
Receiving more donations of non-perishable items is another focus so that we can help satisfy more longer term needs.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
At Provide a Meal we are constantly on the lookout for new volunteers to help deliver our mission to alleviate food poverty and hunger. If you would like to get involved with collections and food parcel delivers, please get in touch at [email protected]
by lennie | Nov 20, 2021 | Charity, Food Poverty
If you are struggling with the cost of food, or would like a hot meal, there are services in Portsmouth that are here to help. Foodbanks provide around 3 days food for your whole household if you can’t afford to buy food. Some foodbanks need a referral, and some can help you without being referred.
| Day/Time |
Location |
Details |
| Monday 11am-1pm |
Kings Church Hall, Fraser Road, PO5 4QA |
Food bank voucher or e-referral required
3-day food parcel |
| Tuesday 1-3pm |
Haven Community Centre, Lake Road, PO1 4HA |
No voucher needed for first 3 visits
3-day food parcel |
| Wednesday 10-11am |
St. Margaret’s Community Church, Highland Road, PO4 9DD |
No voucher needed
2-day food parcel |
| Wednesday 11am-1pm |
Kings Church Hall, Fraser Road, PO5 4QA |
Food bank voucher or e-referral required
3-day food parcel |
| Thursday 10.30am-12.30pm |
Family Church Caring Hands, Empower Centre, 83-87 Kingston Road, PO2 7DX |
Caring Hands food bank voucher or email referral required
3-day food parcel
Home delivery |
| Thursday 12pm- 1pm |
Harbour Church, St. George’s Square, PO1 3AT |
Food bank voucher or e-referral required
3-day food parcel |
| Thursday 12-2pm |
Paulsgrove Baptist Church, Woofferton Road, PO6 4DW |
Food bank voucher required
3-day food parcel |
| Friday 10am-12pm |
Haven Community Centre, Lake Road, PO1 4HA |
No voucher required for first 3 visits
3-day food parcel |
| Friday 10-11am |
St. Margaret’s Community Church, Highland Road, PO4 9DD |
No voucher needed
2-day food parcel |
| Friday 11am-1pm |
Kings Church Hall, Fraser Road, PO5 4QA |
Food bank voucher or e-referral required
3-day food parcel |
Download PROVIDE A MEAL app and feed someone today! 
by lennie | Oct 16, 2021 | Food Poverty
1. to assist others.
First and foremost, after you contribute to a cause you’re making the globe a more robust place. Whether you’re donating some time, money or expertise, there are recipient(s) taking advantage of it. People may head to school thanks to the scholarship you fund, children may feel supported by the shelter or food they receive, animals is also saved thanks to the organization you donate too, and society’s carbon footprint may decrease as a results of your research and efforts. Ultimately, giving back shows kindness and peoplearound you see that.
While sometimes there are questions about where money goes within the public sector, the very fact is, everyone in it’s trying to try and do something bigger than what one amongst us could do alone. the very fact is this: after you donate to charity you’re doing good within the world.
2. you’re feeling good.
What does bettering the globe lead to? Feeling good! The act of helping others, donating to charity, or volunteering it slow, will offer you an improved sense of wellbeing. The knowledge that you’ve sacrificed time and/or money so as to assist others in need or create positive change within the world may be a beautiful thing. Receiving notice of the nice your money has exhausted a specific community, or a letter from your foster child, can truly warm your heart. Giving to charity can provide you with a way of purpose in life, together withegos and inner satisfaction.
3. You become informed.
When you are considering making a charitable donation, you maypossibly want to research what cause you’d prefer to support, the organisations that may best achieve this, and therefore the structure and mission of these organisations. As a results of this research, you become more educated about social injustices round the world. Furthermore, you’ll be exposed to new perspectives and opinions on topics about which you were previously uninformed. this is oftenimportant for plenty of reasons, like gaining a greater understanding of the planet and your own community. Exposure to numeroustopics may fuel your sense of purpose in life and contribute to solutions and a greater world.
4. You fuel your passion.
When you donate it slow and money to a cause that’s near and dear to your heart, you’re giving yourself the chance to fuel your passion and spend time doing belongings you love. does one love animals? By volunteering with an animal shelter you’ll feel needed, purposeful, and energized. does one believe education is that the best gift you’llgive? By sending money for women to travel to highschool, you’repaying attention to your heart and, ultimately, fueling your passion.
5. you’ll be able to reap social, physical, mental, and spiritual benefits.
By giving some time to a charity, you get the chance to create your social circles by working with like-minded people. you’ll even be able to do something physical, supplying you with the chance to become healthier and happier. and therefore the mental and spiritual benefits from knowing your contributing to your favorite cause are through the roof!
Download PROVIDE A MEAL app and feed someone today!
by lennie | Oct 9, 2021 | Food Poverty
Provide a meal is a platform for giving food to people who are in need of it. We work with charities that validate beneficiaries that we give meals to. This essentially means that we are working with people who are in need of meals through the charity itself rather than working with the individuals. For instance, if a charity has a group of people who needs to be fed, the charity would reach out to us. They would then receive meal codes from our platform where they could give to the beneficiaries which ultimately provides them a meal.
These a few local charities we are currently working with:
The Parenting Network
The You Trust
Pushing change
British Red Cross
Portsmouth City of Sanctuary
Caring Hands / Family Church
Society of St James Homeless Outreach
by lennie | Sep 8, 2021 | COVID 19, Food Poverty
Before the pandemic, there was a rising trend in levels of household food insecurity, and now, Covid-19 has left even more people struggling to afford a nutritious diet. Although there are lots of community driven groups, who are attempting to assist vulnerable people, evidence shows plenty of households have struggled to access full support. Reliance on food banks and food aid charities isn’t sustainable neither is it a security net for those families who can’t afford a good diet.
Free school meals were a large help for families before the pandemic. During the pandemic, there have been many issues with supplying quality meals, which left many children with inadequate meals. because of national restrictions, 31% of youngsters who normally receive free meals haven’t received a substitute since schools were closed. In response to the current, Manchester United athleteMarcus Rashford advocated a nationwide campaign to supplychildren in need with access to nutritious free meals. The campaign, which started off as a petition have then received over 1 million signatures. The COVID-19 pandemic increased child hunger and malnutrition because the pandemic forced quite 1.6 billion children out of faculty in 199 countries, depriving nearly 370 million children in 150 countries access to nutritious meals.
(Source)
Covid-19 has made a brand new vulnerable group, who were financially stable pre-covid, only to finish up having to balance all of their money carefully. Many families that are suffering with low-income households a brand new financial hardship. Many households arefinancially struggling, increasing debt and even using money from their own savings to survive. With the top of the Furlough Scheme, the proposed move the £20 uplift to Universal Credit would only increase the challenged faced by the families already trying to procure their food bill. Recent estimates from the ‘Trussell Trust’ suggest that over 1,000,000 people claiming universal credit could should intercommunicate food banks if the uplift were removed.
In July 2021, a report by five UN agencies found that global hunger spiked in 2020, with 2.3 billion people lacking round year access to adequate food, additionally, over 155 million people were tormented by acute hunger thanks to conflict and instability and projections for the remainder of 20201 indicate that trend will continue.
Child food insecurity within the uk could be a long-standing issue that has resulted within the highest prevalence rates within Europe. Organisations, like the tip Hunger UK Coalition, have launched a campaign with the aim to drive a 50% reduction in household food insecurity by 2025 as a benchmark to its complete eradication by 2030.
During 2020, the dine out to assist out Scheme was introduced to the united kingdom. Every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, everyone was able to get a 50% discount on food or non-alcoholic drinks from selected restaurants and cafes. The scheme aimed to assist protect jobs and support businesses within the hospitality sector by encouraging consumers to eat after the covid-19 lockdown period.
At Provide a Meal, we work with different charities, restaurant, individuals and organisations to ensure that the UK is a hunger free zone. We do this with our PAM App. You can give as low as £3 meal to someone in need today, Please download our app here! www.provideameal.com
Android Version : Click here
Apple Version : Click here
by lennie | Sep 7, 2021 | Food Poverty, Food Waste
Every year, hundreds of thousands of tonnes of food is wasted in the UK food industry. Globally, 25–30% of total food produced is lost or wasted, and food waste is estimated to contribute to 8-10% of total man-made greenhouse gas emissions. If food waste were a country, it would be the world’s third largest emitter after China and the USA.
According to the most recent report by the charity ‘Waste and Resources Action Programme’ (WRAP), the UK have produced around 9.5 million tonnes of food waste in 2018. WRAP estimated that this waste had a value of over £19 billion a year and would be associated with more than 25 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. It has said that of this waste, 6.4 million tonnes could have been eaten—the equivalent of over 15 billion meals!
The vast majority of food waste ends up in already overly crowded landfill sites. While many people do not view this as an issue as food items degrade naturally over time, it contributes heavily to global warming and the erosion of the O-Zone layer.’
What can you do to reduce food waste?
There are many resources you can find online and around the UK where you can gain access of cheap eats! There are great food apps such as ‘Too good to go’ which allows users to spend as little as £3. Their goal is to save unsold food from your local restaurants/cafes and store(s)!
Try to avoid over buying! You’ve heard of the term ‘your eyes are hungrier than your stomach’ do your pockets and planet a favour and avoid over buying! Although a packed fridge may temporarily look good, this can be a huge factor towards food waste if the house hold cannot eat it all.
Freeze your goods! – Freezing foods can help preserve them for later use and prevent them from spoiling. Many fresh fruits and vegetables keep well when frozen, extending their shelf life and reducing waste. Some foods can be preserved well in the freezer like bread, various meats and even prepared food dishes!
Many manufacturers put different labels on foods, like “sell by” or “use by.” These dates help markets know when to rotate their stock, but they can be confusing for consumers.
The easiest way to see if your food has gone bad is to trust the senses. If a product smells, looks, or tastes spoiled, it probably is. When in doubt, it’s best to throw it out!
Pack a lunch! – a very simple way of avoiding food waste on the go is to bring food from home. This can also save you money!
Hunger in the UK
It is said that there are 8.4 million people in the UK struggling to afford to eat – this is comparable to the entire population of London! The UN figures also show that ‘5.6% of people aged over 15 struggle to get enough food and a further 4.5% say that they have been a full day without eating anything. At Provide a Meal, we work with different charities, restaurant, organisations and individuals to ensure that the UK is a hunger free zone and we do this with our PAM App. To give as low as £3 pound meal to someone in need, Please download our app today. @provideameal
‘Kindness’
Taken in Portsmouth, UK, Original Photos by @LDA.Productions
