Child poverty figures in our region have reached shocking levels with more than two in three children living in poverty, in parts of Merseyside, according to latest government figures.
This means that 68,718 children are now living below the breadline, despite one or more of their parents working, which is why Halewood’s Jay Round, who works in the Off Track Area, is calling on our workforce to take action.
Jay has set up a food donation point in the Trim & Final People’s Centre for Knowsley Food Bank and will be making weekly deliveries to the foodbank, which has seen a big increase in local families using its services.
Last Wednesday, On Track caught up with Jay, as he was making his first delivery, who said: “Since becoming a Dad last year, I’ve been reading up a lot on child poverty in Merseyside because I can’t believe children are going hungry on our doorstep, even when their parents are in work.
“Halewood is renowned for its generosity and if every person at the plant donated just one item of food, based on the size of our workforce, we could provide the foodbank with more than 5000 items of food- which is just incredible.
“These are hard times for everyone but I’m really hoping our employees will be able to pick up some extra tins and packets on their weekly shop and take them to the drop off point- any donation is welcome, no matter how small, because it all adds up.
Jay added: “I’ve just packed up the car boot and have counted 102 items, so we are off to a good start and I am confident we can all dig deep over the next few weeks, to help keep the donation pots flowing as no family should be going hungry.”
If you’re able to, please make a food donation at the station Jay has set up in the Trim & Final People Centre.
Below is a list of foods they are in desperate need of, anything you can donate will be very much appreciated.
•Tinned fruit
•Tinned rice pudding/custard
•Dried pasta
•Tinned fish
•Tinned potatoes/instant mash
•Juice/squash
•Milk (UHT or powdered)
•Meat (tinned)
•Tomatoes (tinned) or pasta sauces (jars)
•Biscuits
•Instant coffee
Thank you for your support.
