Hovis joins child food poverty initiative
Hovis has joined other household brands – such as food delivery app Deliveroo and retailer Tesco – in supporting the campaign, spearheaded by professional footballer Marcus Rashford.
Rashford stated: “Hovis is a brand recognised nationally which offers us a louder voice to highlight the devastating effects of child food poverty across the UK.”
Food poverty in the UK
The UN Food & Agricultural Organisation claimed around one in eight people in the UK struggle to afford a meal. At the same time, the UK has a food waste issue that sees around 250,000 tonnes of food deemed fit for consumption being wasted by the UK food industry.
The move builds on Hovis’ existing commitments to promote healthy eating and support charities that are looking to help end food poverty.
Pete Hill, Hovis HR director stated: “Marcus Rashford has inspired people across the UK with his campaigning efforts calling for more support to help children living in food poverty.
“By sharing his own story and calling for action he has shown true leadership on this critical issue and we are proud to join the Child Food Poverty Taskforce and add our voice to the campaign.”
FareShare initiative
The manufacturer’s commitment to the taskforce builds on its existing initiative with food redistribution charity FareShare to donate 200,000 loaves of bread to families living in food poverty.
Hill added: “Hovis has an ongoing programme for donating food to vulnerable families but we recognise that this support, and the work done by charities such as our partner FareShare, needs to be part of a wider package of measures that bring food poverty among children in the UK to an end.
“We are committed to playing our part and we commend Marcus Rashford and all the supporting partners for their work in this area.”
Meanwhile, food industry coronavirus support initiatives built momentum earlier this year, with a host of firms rallying to aid the vulnerable, NHS staff and their peers in the sector.
