Recently published research by the Sussex Community Foundation estimates that 40% of children in Rye live in households below the poverty line. This places Rye in second place in Rother’s child poverty index and within the 20% most deprived wards in England.
Rye Food Bank has seen a significant increase in children needing emergency food support and are pleased to know the government’s school meal voucher scheme is to continue during the school holidays.
We can see the increase in demand from 2019 in the graph below:
Rye Food Bank is now in the third week of requiring clients to visit to collect their food parcels, it not being viable to continue delivery services now that lockdown is easing.
We are very pleased that some clients have been able to return to work, some remain on furlough, but many remain shielded due to ill health. The group in receipt of government food boxes will no longer receive them from the end of July as they are being withdrawn.
Chris Emson and the team of volunteers all send a huge ‘Thank you’ to everyone who donates to Rye Food Bank. We really appreciate your support and that we are able to keep helping people in very difficult circumstances.
Please keep your donations coming. This week we need soup, pasta sauce, potatoes, meat, rice pudding, custard, sugar, fruit squash, tea and coffee.
Donations of non-perishable, in-date tinned food can be received at the back of the Baptist Church in Cinque Ports Street in Rye on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10am until about 2pm and are very welcome.
Monetary donations can be sent to the Bexhill Food Bank Rye Branch at Barclays Bank, sort code 20-54-25, account number 83501116, the Jempson Foundation or cheques to Rye Food Bank c/o 24 North Salts, Rye. if you donate via the Jempson Foundation and are a taxpayer, gift aid can be applied, thereby increasing the value of the donation by 25% at no cost to the donor.
You can contact Rye Food Bank at ryefoodbank@gmail.com.
Image Credits: Mags Ivatts , Rye Food Bank .