HOW YOU CAN HELP TO TACKLE HUNGER
HOW YOU CAN HELP TO ENSURE FAMILIES DON’T GO HUNGRY
DEMAND for food in some of Nottingham’s most deprived areas has rocketed since the start of the pandemic – and shows no signs of declining.
The charity Fareshare has seen demand double over the last 11 months and currently distributes 22 tonnes of food a week from a new warehouse in the city so families and individuals don’t have to go hungry.
Food is supplied to 93 projects across the county, including food banks, schools, the homelessness charity Framework and community groups.
“The conversations are now about the vaccine roll-out and the news about how restrictions will ease over the next few months but the world won’t go back to the way it was overnight and there are still people who will have job losses and rising debt as a result of the pandemic,” said Laura Spencer, head of development for Fareshare Midlands.
“In a survey of our charities a few months ago 90 percent said that the need will either remain the same as crisis levels, which is effectively double, or increase so they certainly don’t feel the need is going away any time soon.”
It was by coincidence that Fareshare opened its new Nottingham warehouse in last April just days after the first lockdown.
Surplus stock from food manufacturers, supermarket distribution centres and farmers fills the huge space that’s equipped with walk-in chillers and freezer space on an industrial estate in Harrimans Lane, Lenton.
Laura said: “It was part of our growth plans anyway in the Midlands to open a site to take in more food and then reach more charities but it ended up coinciding with the pandemic which actually was very helpful timing. We could reach more groups, expanding our reach both geographically and in terms of numbers.”
Speed was of the essence as appeals for food more than doubled overnight when the whole country locked down.
At least a third of the food distributed is fruit and vegetables. The rest includes meat, pasta, rice, milk, cheese, yogurts... all the components of a healthy balanced diet, plus the occasional treat such as chocolate or biscuits.
Laura said: “It’s hard to put it into words as it has been such a significant year for us so when the pandemic hit literally within days with inquiries from people wanting to help those in their local community, including those who were isolating or shielding or finding themselves suddenly out of work, in dire straights with their finances and unable to access food.
“The food industry responded very quickly and we now distributing double the amount of food we were pre-covid. It has been a huge upscale in operation since the beginning of the pandemic, as well as more space, we have taken on more staff and more volunteers.
“We got more delivery vans and it all happened very quickly to meet that increase in need and that need hasn’t dropped off. A year later we haven’t seen any decline or fall back in that volume of need. We are still distributing the same volume of food as we were at the beginning of the pandemic and we don’t anticipate that to drop off any time soon.”
One cluster of schools led by Nottingham Academy’s Greenwood campus in Sneinton has teamed up with Fareshare to make sure youngsters don’t go hungry at home.
Delivery vans drop off food to the school sites, which is sorted out into parcels by staff and delivered by an army of volunteers to pupils’ homes each week.
The charity works with each project to understand the needs of their users so deliveries can be tailored to meet religious or medical restrictions.
The demand across Nottinghamshire during school holidays has surged. Last summer, Fareshare provided more help than ever before to struggling families.
“Under normal circumstances we have always been busier during school holidays because there is always lots of community activity around school holidays to provide provision for children at clubs.
“What we have found since the pandemic is that support hasn’t gone away but it’s shifted to food parcels for families during school holidays, rather than activity clubs giving out packed lunches,” said Laura.”
The Post and Reach plc have partnered up with Barclays to support Fareshare’s Fill A Tummy campaign. The charity receives food free but needs money to cover the cost of delivery vans, fuel and overheads at the warehouse. For every £1 donated by readers between now and February 28, Barclays will add £2.
“That £3 can enable Fareshare to distribute up to 12 meals to people that might not otherwise eat so technically you can feed a family of four in a day,” said Laura.
To donate go to: barclays.co.uk/ fareshare
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Wildlife Trust has appealed to the public to help create a “beaver paradise” at its largest nature reserve.
The fundraiser will create a new habitat at Idle Valley Nature Reserve near Retford, including a 55-hectare enclosure where at least four beavers will be released over the summer.
It will be the first time in 400 years that beavers will live in the county after being hunted to extinction across Britain in the 16th century.
Speaking about the project, the Trust’s chief executive, Paul Wilkinson, said: “With its vast open skies and abundant wildlife across wetland, woodland and meadows, Idle Valley Nature Reserve is by far our most exciting site in terms of its potential for habitat restoration.
“It is already recognised as one of the richest bird-watching sites in the region and we’re determined to make it even wilder and to put it on the map as a truly inspiring wildlife destination.
“By harnessing a natural process, starting with beavers and expanding our conservation grazing programme, we can begin to unlock the site’s true potential. Managing a site on the scale of the Idle Valley Nature Reserve is a real challenge, but we can create the ideal conditions for beavers to help us help other wildlife including the wetland birds the reserve is known for. Bringing beavers back to Nottinghamshire after a 400-year gap will kickstart our efforts to make the site even richer for wildlife and to create a wealth of opportunities for people to see and connect with nature.”
The charity is seeking to raise £250,000 to support the introduction of beavers, the expansion of its grazing programme with traditional breeds of cattle and other habitat improvements across the vast site as part of its commitment to secure nature’s recovery.
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust wants to create one of the largest beaver enclosures in England, with space for up to three beaver families, and hopes to be ready to welcome at least four beavers later this year.
Details of how you can support the return of beavers to Nottinghamshire can be found atnottinghamshirewildlife.org/beavers.
A DISQUALIFIED driver who left his passenger and a delivery driver with serious injuries after a high speed crash has been jailed.
Kieran Hannan, 26, drove at more than twice the speed limit through Nottingham before he ploughed into the side of his victim’s car after passing through a set of red lights.
Hannan, who was disqualified from driving after a previous police pursuit, had been spotted driving erratically along Radford Boulevard shortly after 12.30am on Sunday, December 13.
Officers in a police patrol car began following Hannan’s white Peugeot and attempted to pull it over.
Hannan initially stopped his car at the entrance to the Mcdonald’s restaurant in Nuthall Road, but sped away as soon as officers attempted to speak to him - colliding with their car as he did so.
He then led police along Bobbers Mill Bridge and towards Western Boulevard before turning back towards Radford.
After passing through several red lights and driving on the wrong side of the road, Hannan was around 100 metres from the nearest police vehicle as he drove at speed along Hartley Road.
A split-second after passing through a red light at the junction with Radford Boulevard he collided with another car being driven across the junction by a delivery driver.
The man, who was initially trapped in his car, sustained a broken leg that required surgery.
Witnesses reported seeing Hannan’s vehicle burst into flames after the collision before eventually coming to a halt some distance down the road.
Hannan was immediately pulled from the burning wreckage by police officers. His front seat passenger, meanwhile, was found some distance from the car after being ejected through the front windscreen. He also sustained serious injuries.
Hannan, of Lennox Road, Doncaster, was taken to hospital but avoided serious injury.
He later admitted charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving to two people, driving whilst disqualified and driving without insurance.
Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court he was sentenced to 32 months in prison. He was also disqualified from driving for three years and must take an extended test to get his licence back.
Collision Investigator Louise Melbourne, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was an appalling display of driving that left a wholly innocent man with serious injuries.
“He was working as a food delivery driver at the time of the crash and now, due to the injuries he sustained, he is currently unable to work. The crash has had a huge impact on his everyday life and the life of his family.
“Hannan, who was already banned from driving as a result of a previous police pursuit, had absolutely no right to be on the road but clearly thought he was above the law.
“His driving that night was extremely dangerous and placed the lives of other road users at risk.”