Pan Together, the community charity which exists to support and provide a community hub for the residents of East Newport, has agreed to fund free school meal vouchers for vulnerable children at Barton Primary School and is calling on Island businesses for support.
Pan Together, which has offered lifeline support services for local residents in need throughout the coronavirus emergency, has decided it cannot stand aside at Christmas in a community where over a third of children live in poverty – the highest level on the Island and more than double the England average.
Local Isle of Wight Councillor and charity trustee, Geoff Brodie, said:
“The COVID pandemic has been a period when Pan Together has had to really step up for our community. The trustees have agreed my proposal that we couldn’t not act in this instance either. We will, therefore, use up to the minimum £3,300 required from our charity’s reserves.
“However, we are calling on local businesses which are surviving COVID to contribute something towards this amount if they can”.
Rachel Thomson, Pan Together’s Community Centre Manager, said:
“In the 211 days from 18th March to 13th October 2020, we helped local people in 2,438 different ways. From 5th May to 28th August 2020, our volunteers and staff prepared and delivered 1,114 no-cost hot meals to local children and young people in real need who weren’t in receipt of free school meals before the lockdown but whose families’ circumstances changed dramatically since and had very limited other means of support.
“Unless the government reverses its decision and listens to Marcus Rashford and what’s needed on the ground, we will be providing a minimum of 110 local children with £30 meal vouchers so they are not the victims of Christmas holiday hunger”.
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If anyone can make a donation to help make a real difference during the festive season, contact 01983 248170 or email [email protected].
As amazing as this is, where’s the healthy food? Feeding children fatty unhealthy foods which makes you fat, gives you heart disease and diabetes isn’t the best way to help out. Why not feed them jacket potatoes or rice and a load of vegetables? Feeding them unhealthy foods will just cost the nhs thousands if not millions when the children are adults as they will need heart surgery or various medications to keep them alive!!
The fat you eat is the fat you wear!
Sugar/carbs doesn’t make you fat, cause heart disease or diabetes fat does! Feed the kids healthy nutritious foods that will keep them happy inside and out!
“Sugar/carbs doesn’t make you fat”
stopped reading there
Sugar is a natural resource it doesnt make u fat read the back of the packet it says in clear writing nil percent fat content its not a magic fat potion!!!!!..and carbs are energy if u dont want to learn and read the labels keep your head and comments in the sand!!!!!
Lol!! Jamie Oliver, who introduced ‘sugar tax’ is a walking example of healthy, I think not! He’s over weight because he eats FAT, look how many grams of ‘fat’ is in a bag of Doritos 66 grams of fat, or a portion of chips 49.9 grams of fat, then look at how much fat is in a whole watermelon or a bag of apples or even a whole bag of sugar, they have nearly 0 grams of fat! So Bing bong, how can sugar make u fat, please tell me, I’m VERY interested
I note that this “charity” is not much better than others
annual accounts to end March 2019 shows
payments made in form of grants/donations (this is not money received by the charity – it is how much they paid out)
£450.00
wages to charity staff members – £17,945
also stated in the accounts…
Secured £117,000 grant from the Community Lottery Fund receivable over a three year period starting from June 2019. This will be used for a centre manager’s remuneration, cleaning and other running expenses for the next three years as well as to help with Building Capabilities, Evaluation and Monitoring related costs;
you will of course note, that the large grant is to be used for managers wages etc…not one penny allocated to “helping poor residents”
and they expect people to donate.
This is a utter nonsense .it’s not the states job to feed children in the holidays ,it’s the parents job .free meals are already provided in term time .and benefits have been increased greatly .so what are these parents wasting it on ?
I don’t know what Utopua you are living in.. Most certainly doesn’t mirror anything on The Island… Don’t tell me your “a seldom seen voter? Where have benefits increased greatly?” the land of the Unicorn”? Meanwhile back in the UK, getting Universal credit out to those who need it, is still proving tricky?! Best remove those “Rose coloured glasses and really smell the onions!.
Idiot
Your right benefit money doesn’t go far once you’ve been down the Tattoo parlour,
And those iPhones don’t grow on tree’s
There are many hard working single mums/families on low incomes that get no help through benefits (or very little) that would be better off financially not working but morally wouldn’t make that choice. I’m by far not saying children should go hungry, but feel more help could/should be given to working families.