Give. Help. Share.

Our Story

Amanda & Jacqueline are two teacher friends who have a passion for education, creativity and making a difference. Our days are filled with food distribution; educational workshops; and health promotion. The year of 2020 marked a change in everyone's lives and for us, we began to re-assess the part we played in society. We wanted to make a difference to children's lives, and not solely through teaching the curriculum.

Shocked to learn that a staggering four million children did not have the funds to access healthy food in the UK, we established Give. Help. Share. in November 2020 to: GIVE children nutritious food; HELP feed families; and SHARE food knowledge for a healthier future.

Fast forward one month to January 2021, and our first food packages were distributed during a national lockdown to those children who needed them most via a school distribution network. By March 2021, we'd received official charity status and resigned from our conventional teaching posts in order to pursue Give. Help. Share. and a Master's degree in Public Health and Health Promotion.

One year later and we're supplying wholesome food bags to more than 2000 families monthly in London and Herts and providing food education workshops to primary-aged pupils (see Education). We can't do this alone though; we're fortunate to be supported by a network of volunteers as well as collaborative food donors who help to make this happen.

Our Aims

• To GIVE nutritious food bags, supporting families in need. We aim to play a small part in addressing this issue, by supplying local schools with weekly food parcels for children who need them the most.
  • 1 in 3 (4.1 million) children in the UK live in poverty
  • 2.5 million children live in food-insecure households
  • Another 500,000 children are set to fall below the poverty line in 2022
  • Rising living costs and taxes means that life is getting tougher and for some, this results in not being able to afford food

• ​To HELP families in crisis. We aim to support families during a range of crises, through: the provision of healthy food parcels; assisting refugees with food, toiletries and day-to-day essentials; and mobilising support to gather emergency goods for distribution to international crisis points.

• To SHARE health education with children. By equipping children with healthy food knowledge in our food education workshops (that they would not otherwise receive under the National Curriculum) as well as essential food preparation skills, we endeavour to upskill this generation of children to be healthier, both physically and mentally, and more independent in adolescent years.

Our service

It consists of two elements:

• Food provision and educational sessions, and schools can choose to opt in to one or both of these. A weekly delivery is made of wholesome food parcels to a disadvantaged school community, where families are struggling with food insecurity. It is the discretion of the schools’ leadership teams to disseminate the food parcels to their most ‘in-need’ families. Our food bags comprise: ambient items (pasta, tinned food, cereal and oats); fruit/vegetables; healthy snacks; and bread or crackers. Usually deliveries continue for an academic term.
• Key Stage 2 pupils are educated on nutrition and healthy eating over a period of six weeks, developing food knowledge at a crucial stage of growth - when food behaviours impact their existing and future health. Each workshop is hands-on, allowing children to practically learn about the risks of excess sugar; the importance of breakfast; vitamins and minerals; and how to eat healthily on a budget. Lessons are accompanied with a take-home food bag which allows us to engage the children in a hands-on session, whilst supporting families with food insecurity.