Boxes of Hope: Help Feed Zimbabwean Children This Christmas – https://fth.org.uk/boxes-of-hope/welcome.php
As Zimbabwe grapples with a severe food crisis, exacerbated by extended droughts and soaring temperatures, the nation’s most vulnerable people are facing dire consequences. The United Nations has issued a stark warning that over half of Zimbabwe’s rural population will be food insecure by early-2025.
This Christmas, the humanitarian aid charity Feed The Hungry UK is asking businesses and organisations to respond to this crisis by filling a shipping container with food – enough to provide 285,000 meals for children in Zimbabwe.
The Projects Director for Feed The Hungry, Gavin Kibble MBE, shares, “We’ve worked in Zimbabwe for over 20 years and already have established feeding programmes in Harare. Because of the challenging conditions that have led to crop failure, we’ve started new programmes in more rural areas of Zimbabwe. Now, we’re regularly feeding 19,500 children every school day.”
Feed The Hungry is asking 28 businesses to donate 10,000 rice-based meals each.
Gavin continued, “These rice meals are cheap – just 25p per meal – but the mix of ingredients in each meal gives the carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals that a child needs to thrive. We’ve seen whole schools where malnutrition has been irradicated because the students are regularly eating this food. Businesses can give 10,000 of these meals for a donation of just £2,500.”
Head of Fundraising for Feed The Hungry, Rich Smith, says, “We’re looking for companies of all sizes to take part. The donation for 10,000 meals doesn’t need to come from the business itself, but instead, we’d encourage staff to take part in fundraising as a team to raise the money. We’ve got online donation forms that can be set up for each company taking part so that you can see how much you’ve raised in real-time. And we’ve got loads of ideas to help you raise the money in enjoyable ways as a team.”
As an added bonus, if a company can raise the money for the 10,000 meals, Feed The Hungry will come and run a food packing activity in which staff can pack the rice meals themselves.
Rich shared, “Feed The Hungry run food packing events up and down the UK. We can come to your business and bring all of the equipment, ingredients and expertise so that your staff can help pack the meals that they’ve raised the money for. Meal packing is an amazing way for your staff to participate tangibly in helping to tackle world hunger, it’s a lot of fun and a great way to build your team.”
Packing 10,000 meals takes a team of 40 people around 2.5 hours. While £2,500 might seem like a big target, for a team of 40 people, the amount needing to be raised by each person is just over £60. And if those giving Gift Aid their contributions, it’s just £50 per team member!
To find out more about Boxes of Hope, and to register your company to take part, visit https://fth.org.uk/boxes-of-hope/.
About Feed The Hungry UK
Feed The Hungry UK is a registered charity dedicated to alleviating hunger and poverty worldwide. We work with local partners to provide sustainable solutions, including food distribution, agricultural training and community development programmes.
Website
feedthehungry.org.uk
Email
[email protected]