Chichester charities help over 1,000 families during coronavirus pandemic after funding boost from People’s Postcode Lottery

Chichester District Foodbank has used its £20,000 funding boost for its kid’s holiday lunch pack scheme which provides fortnightly lunch packs to children on free school meals due to low income during school holidays.

Meanwhile, Children on the Edge has used its grant from the Postcode Global Trust to support the distribution of essential food supplies to around 1,000 Syrian refugees and Lebanese families.

Children on the Edge fundraising manager Eloise Armstrong said: “This crisis has no borders. This is one of the first times we have had to respond to a genuinely global struggle that affects us both at home and in every country where we work.”

Chichester Foodbank chief executive Joanne Kondebeka said: “We work with schools in the district to identify the children who fall into this category and they are usually given a voucher to come and collect a parcel – obviously during Covid-19 we had to deliver.”

Over Easter, Chichester District Foodbank provided two weeks of nutritious lunches for 835 children.

Joanne said: “The support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery has helped with staffing costs at what is a really busy time for us, as well as enabling us to increase the protection for our volunteers by purchasing the necessary equipment, and allowing us to buy the increased number of boxes that we need for the amount of deliveries we’re now getting out.”

Sanjay Singh, from People’s Postcode Trust, said: “It’s been brilliant to see how two Chichester charities are being supported by our players to ensure children and their families, both at home and abroad are not going hungry.”

To find out more about the charities visit www.childrenontheedge.org or www.chichesterdistrict.foodbank.org.uk

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