Holiday hunger update

In response to the Government’s announcement on holiday hunger – the Council announced yesterday what it was doing to help.

Many residents have since been asking about the Government’s additional funding of £63 million provided in June to help local authorities support families struggling to afford food due to Covid-19.

Blackburn with Darwen received £239,387 of this money which was used to offset the costs of the Food Hub operation – with a stipulation from Government that most of the funding would need to be spent within 12 weeks.

The borough is already struggling, sadly around 30% of our children were living in child poverty prior to the pandemic, now this has risen alarmingly to nearly half of Blackburn’s children now in child poverty (47.3%) according to Loughborough university research.

Demand for support from households facing financial hardship as a result of Covid-19 has outstripped the funding and councils are having to find money to top it up from already stretched budgets that came from over a decade of austerity and government budget cuts.

Each week the borough’s network of children’s centres are feeding 500 vulnerable children.

Council Leader, Cllr Mohammed Khan, CBE, said: “We share the huge disappointment expressed by England footballer Marcus Rashford following the government’s vote against plans that would have protected children from hunger this half term.

“The money that came to the Council had been spent by August to help those most in need so it remains an absolute travesty that our most vulnerable families have been left to struggle further having already been hit by poverty and low incomes, through what seems like a blatant disregard for the impact this will have on the needs of children at this most difficult time.”

Community comes to the rescue

Cllr Khan added: “What has been truly remarkable is that less than 24 hours after this disappointing announcement, dozens of businesses, community groups, charities and volunteers from across the borough, have rallied round and offered to help out, providing free meals and packed lunches. Many of which are already feeling the pinch themselves due to the impact on their businesses, community groups and themselves as individuals.

Our foodbanks are staffed with selfless volunteers protecting those most vulnerable – those who, in many cases, have fallen into circumstances due to illness, personal loss and unemployment.

A lot of these volunteers have themselves suffered unemployment as a result of the pandemic, yet they still strive to help others less fortunate.

That to me is the greatest example of what we can do, and the difference we can make, when we work together.”

Cllr Khan added: “Food poverty is already a huge priority for the Council and that’s why we support thousands of local children through our community and charity networks.

“As well as this, we have been addressing food poverty as part of our response to Covid-19, through the establishment of the borough-wide Blackburn with Darwen Food Alliance. Working with more than 40 voluntary sector organisations, we have been feeding thousands of low income families throughout the pandemic.

We have also invested additional money to ensure that children and families can access food during this half term break. The additional provision includes extended opening hours for families to access food and increasing food supplies to meet growing demand and investing in the Help Hub.”

Blackburn with Darwen Council has invested in the Food Alliance, which sees the council working arm-in-arm with dozens of voluntary organisations to ensure that the borough’s poorest residents do not go hungry. The council’s support helps towards logistical support, coordination and delivery to distribute food to hubs around the borough to where it is needed most.

It has also been addressing child poverty over recent years and last year was the focus of its public health report, which highlighted already significant challenges and inequalities. It emphasised the majority of families living in poverty had at least one parent working – showing the other side to some who think families in poverty are ‘choosing to allow their children go hungry’.

In the report it stated that  household income for residents in the borough after taxes and benefits in 2017, was an average of £12,623 per head – the lowest in the North West, and 3rd lowest in the UK, after Nottingham and Leicester.

It also highlighted the voices of children and young people sharing their own first-hand experiences of poverty – and particularly food poverty – through the Blackburn with Darwen Food Alliance’s ‘#DarwengetsHangry’ and ‘#Blackburngets Hangry’ campaigns. In a powerful video, students of Darwen Aldridge Enterprise Studio give an eloquent account of what it feels like to experience food poverty and the stigma that goes with it, and how it can affect behaviour in school.

You can read the detail here: https://www.blackburn.gov.uk/health/public-health-report

Cllr Julie Gunn, Executive Member for Children and Young People and Education, said: “We need a wholesale rethink and a wake-up call for the government on the level of poverty and the impact that this has on the lives of children and young people.

At a time when they are getting the roughest deals both Covid related and otherwise, I think it’s the least that can be done.

Businesses, individuals, voluntary organisations, small groups and large, have really shown that this is a borough full of people who know how to take care of each other.”

Nobody should be going hungry so please don’t forget the Help Hub is available to offer support too, please call Blackburn with Darwen Help Hub on: 01254 588111.