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FOOD
EMERGENCY
WARTIME measures are needed to tackle the worsening food poverty crisis, the Government has been warned.
An expert in food history is calling for the return of “British Restaurants” – a nationwide communal dining scheme introduced during the First World War –to tackle what he says is now a “national emergency” .
While the UK is not at war, the cost of living crisis is deep enough to demand a new “emergency feeding” response, says Bryce Evans, a history professor at Liverpool University.
He says reintroducing the Government subsidised scheme, which ended in the 1960s, would remove the stigma of going to food banks.
Prof Evans said: “Food banks are doing a crucial job and there are some fantastic people who volunteer at them. I’m certainly not trying to be disparaging about food banks.
“But with the basic food bank model, those who use them are already ‘defeated’ before they go there. Many food banks require a referral in order to be able to access them and it means there’s an
unfortunate, almost Dickensian, stigma attached to using them. “You have to present as the ‘deserving poor’ . I find that extremely uncomfortable, particularly when you see working people are using food banks. “I can’t help but contrast the situation now to what we had during wartime and afterwards where Britain had a vast network of British Restaurants that were subsidised by the Government and which played a CALL: Prof Evans key role in feeding the nation. ‘Bring back wartime measures’ “Yes, you had to pay for the food. But it was very cheap, cooked for you prepared on site, and had to be at least half-way nutritious. “It was a great way to address food and fuel poverty. Make no mistake, we’re facing a national emergency , which I don’t think has truly bitten yet. ” Ian Byrne, Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby, is a leading proponent of the “Right to Food” movement. On community kitchens, he says: “Government should fund dining clubs and mealson-wheels services for the elderly and vulnerable, school holiday meals for those most in need and cookery clubs for the wider community. ”
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
SIR: With the loss of podcaster and campaigner Deborah James, who lived with cancer for six years, it is not surprising that death is at the front of many people’s minds.
At Maggie’s we have more than 25 years’ experience of supporting people to live with cancer and have become experts in helping people to cope with death –whether that be the prospect of their own or of someone they love.
Recently, we hosted a webinar on Grief and Bereavement in the Workplace, where we shared our knowledge to help companies better support their employees and colleagues.
Afterwards, more than 80% of attendees said they felt better able to support work colleagues with grief and bereavement.
I am delighted our expertise, born from a desire to support people living with cancer, can now be used more widely.
This couldn’t happen without the generosity of players of People’s Postcode Lottery, through Postcode Care Trust, whose support has meant Maggie’s has received £20m since 2008. Dame Laura Lee, DBE, Maggie’s Chief Executive
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LOVING MEMORIES: Rob and his late mum. Kath. The inheritance she left has helped Rob to publish a new children’s book with some very positive messages
MUM’STHEWORD
ROB Martin was only six years old when he lost his severely disabled teenage sister Pauline.
She had lived with multiple conditions and spent much of her life in hospital.
Her death had a huge impact on the rest of the family, including Rob and middle sister Carol.
Half a century later, still affected by the tragedy, an inheritance from his mother allowed Rob the chance to honour them both and spread an important message about kindness, fun, laughter and love.
Rob used the money his mum left him to publish a children’s book. Joe and Dusty Save The World tells the tale of a young disabled boy called Joe and his trusty sidekick and support dog, Dusty, an English bull terrier.
Rob found an illustrator – Margit van der Zwan – to bring his dynamic duo to life and the result has already attracted the attention of some high-profile fans.Actor and activist Julie Hesmondhalgh and Sarah Gordy, a TV and stage actor who has Down’s Syndrome, have both written forewords for it.
In the picturebook, written entirely in rhyme, best friends Joe and Dusty are abducted by aliens who are set on blowing up planet earth.
But thanks to Joe’s unwavering devotion to his dog and his infectious love of music and dancing, he changes the minds of his extraterrestrial captors.
Freelance copywriter and marketing consultant Rob, who grew up in Wirral, says the book’s importance, is that it focuses not on its disabled hero’s challenges, but on how Joe’s differences are in fact strengths. Strengths
Only weeks after its publication, the book’s themes came even closer to home as Rob was found to have autism.
“Suddenly everything started to make sense, ” he said. “Even I could spot that I shared many traits in common with Joe, and when I asked my sister and my husband if they had ever suspected I was autistic, they both said that they had. ”
Rob said publishing Joe and Dusty felt like the best way to honour the memory of his mum and sister and to get a handle on his understanding of himself as an autistic man.
He added: “Joe and Dusty is a book about a young boy who just happens to be disabled. I deliberately don’t name Joe’s disability because it is not a book about what he finds difficult or can’t do. The story’s happy ending relies entirely upon Joe’s strengths.
“Whilst it’s a book about space and aliens, the underlying message is about celebrating people for their differences. ”
Julie, best known for her role as Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street, and who recently set up fundraising group 500Acts of Kindness, said: “What a beautiful idea this is to put a child with learning differences and his dog companion at the centre of the action. ”
Sarah said: “Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. We need different people to make the world better in lots of different ways. ” n You can buy a copy of Joe & Dusty from £9.99 at joeanddustybooks.com
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