Sector-wide campaign launched to help meet huge demand for emergency food parcels

Read more about the campaign on Accent Housing’s website.

Accent Housing has launched a nationwide campaign to raise £1m for the Trussell Trust, which is working with its network of food banks across the UK to support the rapidly increasing number of people unable to afford food as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The More than Homes campaign– backed by the National Housing Federation, Chartered Institute of Housing and the Northern Housing Consortium – will provide a huge boost for the UK-wide charity. Its network of food banks experienced an 81% surge in demand for its emergency food parcels during the final two weeks of March 2020, compared to the same period in 2019. The number of parcels given to children has soared by 122%.

The Trussell Trust runs a national network of 1,200 food banks with the help of more than 28,000 volunteers. Before the COVID-19 crisis hit, the charity was already responding to a 20-30% year-on-year increase in demand – but figures published last week suggest more people will be needing help than ever before in the coming months.

Three quarters (75%) of the money raised through the ‘More than Homes’ campaign will be distributed directly to local food banks.

The remaining 25% will be used by the Trussell Trust to fund nationwide support to help manage volunteers, refer people to food banks and distribute parcels directly to people’s doors, so food banks can continue to support people safely during the coming months.

The campaign – which has received support from a number of housing associations already – calls on the sector’s collective efforts to work together to help residents and the people in their communities experiencing hunger.

To find out more about the More than Homes campaign, please visit www.accentgroup.org/more-than-homes or email morethanhomes@accentgroup.org

To make a donation, please visit: https://donate.trusselltrust.org/morethanhomes/