The UK-based Diwali Foundation runs an annual Diwali Basket Brigade (DBB) drive of food hampers for families from all faiths and backgrounds in time for the festival of light. This year, given the cost-of-living crisis, DBB felt it was paramount to help people across the UK and donated 300 bags worth of food and toiletries across Birmingham, Manchester and London last month.
The DBB May Food Drop came in the wake of statistics from the Trussell Trust, which supports a UK-wide network of food banks, revealing that more people than ever are accessing food banks. DBB felt compelled to do something to help those in need and reached out to its charity partners for more feedback regarding which items they felt their recipients would require and based on that information, it donated a variety of dried food items, juices and toiletries.
Deepak Parekh, Founder and Chairperson, the Diwali Foundation, told iGlobal: “Since we established our charity in 2017, our mission has always been to support families from all faiths and backgrounds living under the food poverty line. By collaborating with our long-standing charity partners we are ensuring that beneficiaries of our donated food and toiletry products are identified as those most in need.
“Following the May Food Drop, the DBB team are now planning and preparing for our next charity event which will take place later this year, on the weekend of November 4 and 5, when we hope to distribute over 4,000 hampers to families and individuals in need across the various regions we cover.”
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In Birmingham, DBB donated items to the Walsall Housing Group and Walsall Food Bank who distributed it on to people who live in Walsall in the West Midlands. The organisations provide support to all those struggling to make ends meet, including families with children and older people or those who live alone and lack support as well as young people on low wages.
In Manchester, the items went to Fareshare Greater Manchester who DBB have supported before. The team redistribute food to over 232 charities and community groups and organisations. The community food members provide vitally needed meals, food parcels and snacks to hundreds of disadvantaged people daily. They work with a huge variety of people experiencing hardship, from people who are homeless or unemployed, people dealing with substance abuse problems, refugees and asylum-seekers at drop-ins, Sure Start Centres, and breakfast and after-school clubs for children and young adults.
In London, the charity partner was Food Bank Aid with whom DBB has worked since its inaugural event. They support North London Food Banks from Bushey to Tottenham and everywhere in-between. They operate across multiple London boroughs and help around 14,000 vulnerable people, including 4,000 children, weekly. They are a community-led charity which supports all denominations and demographics.
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“As the years progress, we find there is a growing need from our charity partners. Therefore, this year we would like to build on the work we have done in previous years and continue the work we do,” DBB said.