Scottish brewer and retailer Innis & Gunn has today announced a major new charity partnership with Meals & More, a UK wide organisation which works to end ‘Holiday Hunger’, where children struggle to get food to eat when they are not in school.
Innis & Gunn, through their Brewery Taproom Bars, has pledged a six-figure support package which will be bolstered by a number of initiatives to be announced in the coming months. The brewer intends to grow its contribution every year.
On Monday (4 May), the Food Foundation released a poll suggesting around 2.4 million children live in food insecure households and that as many as 350,000 have not eaten enough since Covid-19 restrictions came into force. Half a million (31%) of the children who normally receive free school meals have received no substitute at all since schools closed.
Peter McGrath, Operations Director at Meals & More, said: “A huge amount of children across the country live in poverty, and with these already unacceptable figures set to increase by at least 20% in 2021, it’s never been more important for Meals & More to gain the support of like-minded organisations as we carry out our work.
“It is clear that Innis & Gunn’s business shares the same values as Meals & More. We strongly believe that children should not be subject to poverty and especially hunger during holiday periods and we can work together to expand the support we give to our communities and make a difference to children’s lives. To be the company nominated charity is an exciting venture and we look forward to working with Innis & Gunn to achieve our goals.”
Dougal Gunn Sharp, Founder and Master Brewer at Innis & Gunn, added: “There are families right across the country who struggle to provide enough for their children when they are not at school. I am lucky enough to lead a business with resources that we can put to good use to help tackle these issue by supporting Meals & More to carry on their important work, and that is exactly what we are going to do.”
“I have spoken with our teams across the business, and we all share the same sense of mission to ease the strain on families and work towards ending this issue by supporting Meals & More and their delivery partners. As well as financial support, we will offer the talents, capabilities and infrastructure of the Innis & Gunn business. Our hope is that we can help to raise awareness amongst the public and help tackle the causes of this children’s crisis.”
Meals & More was set up in 2015 as a catalyst for positive change, bringing likeminded people together, creating opportunity to improve life chances, contributing to happier, healthier children and families. Through provision of nutritious food and enriching educational activities. Its partnerships contribute to supportive environments, boosting health, self-belief and aspirations. In 2019, the charity helped provided 110,000 meals at over 200 clubs across the UK to some of the nations’ most vulnerable children.
For more information about Meals & More visit: https://www.mealsandmore.org.uk/why-we-do-it
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