More than half of children at some schools in Wirral are going without breakfast as a community group looks to raise £2000 for Christmas presents and support for struggling families.
The New Brighton Coastal Community Team, behind the fundraiser, will give the money to several schools around Wallasey before Christmas so they can buy Christmas presents, money to support bills, or food items.
The fundraiser will go to a number of schools in New Brighton and Seacombe in areas with high levels of deprivation and poverty and is linked to Bridging the Wallasey Gap, a collaboration between six churches in New Brighton, Liscard, and Seacombe.
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The cost of living crisis has been driven by rising inflation and energy bills leading to some families having to choose between putting the heating on or buying food as well as affording other basic necessities.
Gillian Homeri, who is involved with the group, said: “At one school, the pastoral care workers are noticing massive numbers of children coming in without eating breakfast.
“At a school in Seacombe, over 50% of the children now come in without it and another, teachers are keeping snacks in the drawer to give to children who aren’t eligible for free breakfasts so they have something to eat.
“What is clear with this is that most families have got a parent in work but they are doing jobs that aren’t paying enough to afford rent or food. Parents are going without food to feed their kids, parents can’t afford to put the heating on at night.”
Ms Homeri said they hoped for fundraisers to go “Wirral-wide” but they do not have enough resources. The community team also plans to fundraise next year to give families long lasting food like cans or fruit and vegetables to make sure kids are eating healthy.
Paul Martin, a councillor for New Brighton, said he supports the fundraiser, adding “heating or eating is really a thing. In the fifth richest economy that simply shouldn’t happen.”
Cllr Martin, who runs the PLS Food Foundation which takes food from supermarkets and redistributes it, said he had seen demand go up since Covid but food supply has gone down.
He said: “The situation locally in New Brighton is almost a microcosm of what is happening up and down the country. I do not want to be political but the government has crashed the economy and the budget is not in favour of people who are not in the top 1%.”
People are being encouraged to drop off financial donations with a collection box confirmed at Literally Books on 12 Atherton Street opposite the train station in New Brighton.
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