So Lewisham Council have bankrupted borough's most famous #FoodBank #Communityhub #Support centre run by Lewisham resident volunteers supporting over 5000 local people & pets #Costoflivingcrisis by billing us £7.372.78 full business rates when we only deal in food & help

The ⁦Department for Work and Pensions⁩ Household Support Fund is due to close in just over 30 days. ⁦Sabine Goodwin⁩ writes for ⁦Big Issue⁩ about the impact this will have and why ⁦Jeremy Hunt⁩ must make sure to #SaveCrisisSupport in next week’s budget bigissue.com/opinion/food-b…

'On top of all this, the DWP has just made things even harder for people facing sanctions by banning Jobcentres from referring claimants to referral-only food banks.' Sabine Goodwin #CashFirst
birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-…

“Just as destitution levels soar, anti-poverty campaigners are having to focus their efforts on persuading the government to preserve a last bastion of hope for households in crisis – the household support fund.” #SaveCrisisSupport ⁦⁦Big Issue⁩ bigissue.com/opinion/food-b…

Food banks would like to see fewer referrals because people have enough income to afford food not because Jobcentres have passed the buck to other overwhelmed agencies. New ‘signposting slip’ bound to increase pressure on struggling claimants and already overstretched food banks

'The chancellor must show how he will ensure that at a minimum the rates of benefit will cover life’s basic costs,' writes Gordon Brown. ✍️

Right now Universal Credit doesn't cover the cost of life’s essentials. ❌

We must #GuaranteeOurEssentials .
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

Food charities looking for more from Good Food Nation Plan -
“Any plan that is serious about reducing food insecurity must also outline detailed targets to ensure that meaningful progress is made over the next five years.” ⁦Sabine Goodwin⁩ thenational.scot/news/24095622.…

The future of crisis support is fragile. Explore IFAN's new map identifying available crisis support in a sample of local authorities in England, what this can tell us, and why it's vital that the #HSF is extended beyond March 31st #SaveCrisisSupport  bit.ly/3Snsrtf

🫂For some families, #FreeSchoolMealsForAll is not just about lunch: it’s a lifeline.

🍎Read Child Poverty Action Group and National Education Union's report highlighting how the scheme helps parents in London.

➡️bit.ly/SchoolMealsRep…

Huge thank you to Forbes Family Group for supporting us this year, enabling us to support the families in our community 🥳

Thanks to @legendarycclub for your truly fantastic work on lovely food hampers for the families of our wonderful young people 😊💝

#youthfirst #charity #lewisham charity #youthcharity #lewisham #london #donate #holidaygifts

'But appeal messaging needs to be loud and clear as to how we can bring this perpetual state of crisis to an end...There’s a myth that still needs to be busted – neither food parcels nor redistributed surplus food will solve poverty.' Sabine Goodwin bigissue.com/opinion/food-b…

'We need to be collectively shouting from the rooftops that baby banks, like warm banks, fuel banks and food banks, shouldn’t be needed.'
Sabine Goodwin Graham Whitham Greater Manchester Poverty Action Ames Taylor #CashFirst Sally Weale
ifanuk.org/47KBh9D

The Department for Work and Pensions must urgently change its current position on the #HouseholdSupportFund - 'While no further decisions have been taken on the HSF, we continue to keep all of our existing programmes under review in the usual way.'
HSF must be extended beyond March 2024 Local Government Association (LGA)

The good news in these findings is that child poverty can be tackled. The bad news is that in the UK politicians are sitting on their hands. They must act. Every party must commit to scrapping the two-child limit and benefit cap, to restoring investment in child benefit... 1/2

Please share & donate to our xmas fundraiser if you can. We support our families with everything they need to make a Xmas feast along with book gifts

givey.com/legendarycommu…

'No amount of food surplus redistribution is going to stop hunger from happening and pretending otherwise risks covering up the actual cause of food poverty: lack of income.' Sabine Goodwin IFAN #cashfirst #Right2Food

'No less than 3.8 million people faced destitution in the UK in 2022....However well-intentioned, attempting to bridge the gap between food poverty and food waste is tantamount to entrenching these problems further.' Sabine Goodwin #CashFirst Joseph Rowntree Foundation

bigissue.com/opinion/food-p…

'A food parcel cannot stop hunger from happening in the first place. While food banks have scrambled to help as many people as possible, destitution figures have more than doubled in five years.' Sabine Goodwin Maria Marshall Guardian letters #CashFirst
theguardian.com/society/2023/n…

Our response to the Autumn Statement:

It’s right that benefits are uprated as usual but this should never have been in doubt and legislation mandating inflationary increases is needed as a basic protection for living standards. 1/n