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Parcels to bring children 'magic of Christmas'

BBC Five people are in a warehouse packing cardboard boxes. They are wearing blue high-vis vests. There are two men in the foreground and a woman who is smiling.BBC
Charities say families need extra help over winter as heat bills rise

Two Bristol charities have said they are working together to pack Christmas packages full of food and presents, amid rising child poverty.

FareShare South West together with Children’s Scrapstore are packing more than 1,000 food parcels to send out to families across Bristol.

It comes as child poverty is on the rise, with one in three children facing poverty compared to one in four last year, according to FareShare.

Josie Forsyth, deputy head of FareShare South West, said: "The free school meals for kids stop over the holidays and the heating bills rise, so we step up our operations."

Josie Forsyth is standing in a warehouse in front of boxes and crates. She is wearing a yellow high-vis jacket and a red jumper. She is smiling at the camera.
"The need is growing," said Josie Forsyth

FareShare is a charity that redistributes leftover food from the food industry to schools and charities that need it.

"The need is growing," Ms Forsyth said.

"We had the pandemic and then we had the cost of living crisis, and that hasn't gone away."

She added the parcels will include recipe books and food to match the meals' ingredients.

Additionally, they will also have materials for creative activities supplied by the Children's Scrapstore.

"They [the parcels] bring the magic of Christmas to children all over the city," Ms Forsyth said.

Kelly Wyatt is standing in a room with a whiteboard behind her and a few boxes on a table. She is wearing a black hoodie and glasses. She is smiling.
Kelly Wyatt said the packs included a selection of craft materials

Kelly Wyatt, manager at the Children's Scrapstore, said a selection of craft materials and an instruction book were supplied for the activities.

"There's a mix of things from cardboard paper, colourful sheets, googly eyes," Ms Wyatt said.

"Being able to give an activity pack and the food at Christmas time when we all know money is tight, to be able to receive a present like this, will be so beneficial to families.

"There's so many families out there that need this. It's not just food, it's the activities as well. It's really important to us."

Funding is from the holiday activities and food programme, through the Department for Education, which provides additional support for families during school holidays when there are no free school meals.

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