Charity tackling food poverty delivers 65 tonnes of ingredients during school holidays

Access Community Trust chief executive Emma Ratzer viewing a Back 2 School Ambassador session. Picture: Access Community Trust (Image: Archant)

Access Community Trust launched their PINK Orange scheme at the beginning of the summer holidays to support families that would normally receive free school meals in term time, and who were at risk of serious ‘holiday hunger’.

The pilot service concludes this week as children return to school, but between July-September the charity delivered over 65 tonnes of ingredients across the county - helping to prepare over 100,000 meals for those in need.

Access Community Trust’s chief executive Emma Ratzer said: “Food poverty is a real concern, which has been considerably amplified by the continuing coronavirus pandemic.“Our organisation has adapted our existing service offering at pace since lockdown begun, to support even more young people and their families throughout the region.

“But we knew we could do more to help households as they continue to struggle over the school summer holidays.

The Access Community trust have launched 'Sams' cafe in Thetford which aims to give back to the community. Photo: Emily Thomson (Image: Emily Thomson)

“We launched PINK Orange in late July and within just two days had received applications from thousands of households around Suffolk for this service.

“What PINK Orange and its team has delivered to those in need in just 7 weeks is staggering.

“We now hope to achieve long-term funding for this ground-breaking service, so we can support a larger audience over the coming months and years, with not only essential food provision but access to a growing number of supportive services around youth physical and mental health.”Each week, PINK Orange ingredient bags contained the exact amount to prepare two healthy and nutritious family meals.

Children were then able to use the easy to follow step-by-setp recipe cards, created by young people supported by Access Community Trust, to prepare each meal.

Access Community Trust's chairman of the board of trustees, Steve Wright (back left) next to chief executive officer, Emma Ratzer (back middle), with their team at the launch of Sams cafe in Thetford, which aims to give back to the community. Photo: Emily Thomson (Image: Emily Thomson)

The charity also provided a range of cookery videos via its Youtube channel, with further guidance and tips for creating freshly prepared meals on a budget.

Members of the scheme were then encouraged to share their experiences with friends and family on social media to inspire other households to join the campaign, which helped to address holiday hunger in the region and remove any stigma attached to it.