Liverpool’s three foodbanks are among the 40 organisations receiving grants from Liverpool’s “Mayor’s Hope Fund”.

Co-ordinated by the Trussell Trust, the foodbanks are located in the north, south and east of the city and are set to receive £10,000 each, with more than £108,000 given to other organisations across the Liverpool City Region.

Recipients include children’s charity KIND, also set to receive £10,000, and the Liverpool Samaritans and the Whitechapel Centre set to receive £5,000 apiece.

Volunteers from the foodbanks received their cheques from mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson at the Town Hall last week. They were joined by the Joint Trade Unions Committee (JTUC), who were also awarded after some members lost wages as a result of strike action earlier in the year.

Mayor Joe Anderson said:

“I hope that this money will go some way to making it a better holiday season for hundreds of people and families who really struggle at this time of year. All the organisations who receive grants do fantastic work in helping those who need it most.

“I would like to offer my great thanks to those organisations and individuals who have throughout the year contributed to the Mayor’s Hope Fund.

“I am also particularly pleased that JTUC agreed that it was a great idea if the Fund could be boosted with some of the money from the one day strike’s lost wages rather than provide a saving for the city council meaning that the Fund’s impact will be so much greater.

“I also wanted to support the important service Samaritan volunteers provide at this time of year helping people with emotional distress and who are struggling to cope.

“I hope we can continue to raise money and awareness to help those suffering in our city and I would like to invite further applications from organisations that deliver such a valuable service in 2015.”

The Hope Fund was launched in January 2014 and awarded £32,000, giving grants to 15 organisations.

The aim of the Fund is to identify projects to supplement, growing their level of service in order to help them to alleviate poverty. Some examples of projects supported include the creation of storage space and distribution centres, the recruitment and training of volunteers, the collection and delivery of food, buying of equipment and the setting up of food growing schemes.

Bobby Daniels, Chair of the JTUC, said:

“We are pleased to support the work of the Mayor’s Hope Fund in tackling food poverty. It is shocking that people are going hungry in 21st century Britain, it shows the need for a change in government policy. Foodbanks provide a vital service and the Mayor’s Hope Fund provides support right across the City and we wanted to find a way to help support that work.”

Other Mayor’s Hope Fund recipients are:

1. Thrive – Dovecot Community Trust CIC, ‘Seniors Together’: £3,000
2. Kensington Fields Community Association, ‘Cooking on a Budget’: £1,000
3. Netherley Youth & Community Initiative, ‘Food Bank Distribution Centre’: £5,000
4. Norris Green Youth Centre, ‘Feeding Young People, Home Grown Way: £4,000
5. Christchurch Walton Breck, ‘Scouse in the House’: £3,000
6. SNC, ‘Growing Green’: £1,900
7. Progressive Lifestyles, ‘The Food Run’: £2,500
8. The Homeless Kitchen: £2,000
9. Somali Women’s Group: ‘Green Food Project’: £1,000
10. Croxteth Community Federation, ‘The Big Help, Sparrowhall’: £4,950
11. Mary Seacole House, ‘Healthy cooking on a budget’: £1,000
12. Walton Village Residents, ‘County Comes Together’: £1,800
13. Princes Trust, ‘Fairbridge’: £3,000
14. Woodlands Community Centre, ‘Catering for Life’: £3,000
15. Asylum Link Merseyside, ‘Destitution Project’: £3,000
16. Merseyside Youth Association: £2,000
17. Croxteth Child Development Service, ‘The Check Out Project’: £900
18. Liverpool 6, ‘Soup for Living’: £2,220
19. Foodcycle Liverpool: £700
20. Liverpool Homeless FC, ‘Hunger for Footy’: £2,700
21. South Liverpool Against Poverty: £1,800
22. Rialto, ‘Community Hampers’: £1,000
23. Healing Space, ‘Winter Warmer’: £500
24. Norris Green Community Alliance: £1,890
25. Centre 56: £3,000
26. Alt Valley Community Trust, ‘Fresh Veg @ North Liverpool Foodbank’: £5,000
27. West Everton Community Council, ‘Our House’: £3,000
28. Merseyside Polonia: £2,900
29. MRANG, ‘Drop in runs’: £545
30. Local Solutions, ‘Winter Assistance partnership’: £5,000
31. Dovecot Multi Activity Centre, ‘Fareshare Project’: £3,000
32. Croxteth Federation Trust, ‘Prevention of Food Poverty’: £4,665
33. The Greenhouse Project, ‘Let’s Cook’: £1,600
34. Friends of the Caribbean Lunch Club, ‘Elders food and Wellbeing’: £1,300
35. Kirkdale Community Company, ‘Food & Plant Garden’: £5,000

People wanting to donate to the Mayor’s Hope Fund can do so by texting either £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10 to LMHF14 followed by the amount to 70070. Alternatively, people can donate online through JustGiving at http://www.justgiving.com/mayorshopefund

For more information about The Mayor’s Hope Fund, visit http://themayorshopefund.org.uk 

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Words: Peter Cribley