Two of the UK’s biggest supermarkets have launched initiatives aimed at tackling food poverty while schools are out for summer.
With the final school term nearing an end now, and six weeks of freedom edging closer and closer for millions of children nationwide, Tesco and Sainsbury’s are both looking to address the concerning rise in the number of young people going hungry while not in the classroom.
Ahead of the six-week holidays, the two supermarket chains have each announced a number of measures they will be taking to help families struggling with costs this summer.
Tesco says it will be donating £1 million to food poverty organisations FareShare and the Trussell Trust this summer, and will also expand its pre-packed customer donation bags – which typically cost between £2 and £3, are pre-filled with healthy and nutritious long-life items, and can be picked up in store and paid for at the checkout – to all of its large stores across the UK.
Some kids may need a little extra help over the school holidays. We are making a £1m Tesco Stronger Starts donation to @fareshareuk and @trusselltrust to support families who need it. If you want to help too, pick up a pre-filled food donation bag in store this summer. #Tescopic.twitter.com/zSRwMceboQ
The donated food is passed to FareShare and the Trussell Trust, which then distributes it to charities and foodbanks to help families who need it most.
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In addition to the donation bags, for one week in July and another in August, Tesco customers will also have the chance to round up their bill at the checkout, either in store or online, to the nearest pound as a way of donating to the two organisations.
Tesco and Sainsbury’s have launched initiatives to tackle food poverty during the school summer holidays / Credit: Sainsbury’s
Over at Sainsbury’s, the supermarket has partnered with charity Comic Relief in a commitment to donate more than £2.5 million to help families with access to nutritious food by providing over one million meals in the school holidays.
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The retailer and charity are also working together to fund several food poverty organisations, as well as help launch five new food club hubs – which will run all year round, and provide long-term solutions to help improve families’ access to food, whether during term time or not.
We’re providing over one million meals to children facing food poverty in the school holidays, by donating over £2.5 million to @comicrelief. Until 23rd July, we’re donating 25p for every purchase of selected fruit and veg and until 30thJuly £100k will be donated from the… pic.twitter.com/nu3ICjV0us
Sainsbury’s is also donating 25p to Comic Relief for every purchase of selected fruit and veg until 29 July, and donating £100,000 from the proceeds of all Dolmio product sales until 30 July.
The Trussell Trust revealed that nearly two-thirds of all its support last year was provided to families with children, and just last summer alone, the charity’s food banks supported 430,000 people with emergency food, and 160,000 of those were children.
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The charity says it expects to see a similar demand this summer, or potentially even higher.
Also, kids can eat for free with any paying adult at all in-store cafes nationwide for the duration of the six-week break at both of the supermarkets.
Featured Image – Tesco
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New images released of Piccadilly Gardens as transformation plans take a big step forward
Daisy Jackson
Plans to transform Piccadilly Gardens to make them more ‘colourful, vibrant and safe’ have taken a big step forward today, with new images released.
Manchester City Council has shared the vision to the public ahead of a planning application being submitted this summer.
The plans to finally give Piccadilly Gardens some love were revealed last autumn, but things are now moving at pace with a delivery team appointed to design and build the new public space.
The new images show the vision for more green space, including lawns, trees, planting, seating, and colourful horticultural displays.
The temperamental fountains will also be removed for good, replaced with a new space called The Pavilion which will host family-friendly events.
The low concrete walls and raised planters at the edge of the gardens will be ripped out, improving the setting of the Queen Victoria statue.
There’ll be a new, larger playground for younger children, created in the same high quality style as the new parks at Mayfield Park and Ancoats Green.
A pre-planning consultation has started today and will run until Wednesday 15 July, with plans to submit the final planning application later this summer.
The new-look play area at Piccadilly GardensPlans for the new Piccadilly Gardens from above
The council has said that these new designs reflect feedback from the public and opinions on what we want to see at the new Piccadilly Gardens.
Council Leader Cllr Bev Craig said: “We’re getting on with sorting out Piccadilly Gardens. We all want to see a space which Mancunians can be proud of – a welcoming and attractive environment which people want to spend time in.
“So as well other initiatives which are delivering more police and more CCTV, we’re bringing forward this scheme to transform the public space. That means investment in more flowers, more greenery, a new welcome pavilion, a new and bigger playground and an altogether more inviting Piccadilly Gardens. A bright new chapter is just around the corner.”
Further planned improvements to the area around Piccadilly Gardens in the coming years will include a multi-million pound investment by Transport for Greater Manchester to create a new, modern transport interchange.
Council calls on Manchester public to help bring hundreds of empty homes back into use
Emily Sergeant
Residents across Manchester are being called on to help bring hundreds of empty homes across the region back into use.
Since the beginning of this year, a major review has been underway around the city’s draft strategy for bringing empty homes back into use to help meet demand for affordable homes across the city, while also improving communities by tackling empty homes that can blight an area… but now, Manchester City Council needs your help.
Following a major public consultation, the Council is now acting on feedback to accelerate plans to bring as many long-term empty homes back into active use as possible.
Although the number of long-term empty homes in Manchester is near a historic low, with the Council having managed to reduce the number by more than half since 2013, there is still more work to be done.
“Every void property is a missed opportunity to provide a family a place to live, reduce homelessness, and lessen the burden on temporary accommodation,” the Council said in a statement.
The Council is calling on the Manchester public to help bring hundreds of empty homes back into use / Credit: Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)
So, how can residents help then? What do you need to do if you spot an empty home on a street nearby?
Well, the easiest way to report an empty home is to report the issue online here, or by emailing [email protected]. And then once that’s done, a team of dedicated empty homes officers will take up the case to find out who owns the property and work with the owner on a plan to bring the home back into use.
The vast number of empty homes are privately owned with complex histories, and there are some cases where an owner may have passed away.
While working collaboratively with housing providers, voluntary organisations and public services are also a key element of detecting potentially empty or ‘problematic’ homes to repurpose them.
Officers can also support, where required, if a communication or language poses a barrier to resolving an empty home issue.
Tailored approaches to different communities – where empty homes impact neighbourhoods in different ways – are also being considered, according to the Council.
“To think, if we could bring all empty homes back into use, then we could provide more homes for those on the housing register and take pressure off the whole housing system,” explained Cllr Gavin White, who is Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and development.
“The potential of making empty homes a thing of the past is huge for Manchester families looking for a place to call home – and a significant part of tackling the housing crisis.”
Emily Sergeant -
18th July 2024 
