For the first time in 70-year history, UNICEF to feed hungry children in UK

Launching an emergency response, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will help feed children affected by COVID-19 crisis in the United Kingdom. As a part of its “Food Power for generation COVID” initiative, the UN agency announced that it was going to feed 1,800 families across the British territory. The coronavirus pandemic, which has stretched for almost a year now, has not only hammered the global economy but also pushed many families to the brink of starvation.

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For the purpose, UNICEF would award grants to as many as 30 local organisations, which feed children battered by the pandemic. Amongst all is School Food Matters, a Non-Profit organisation based in Richmond. Taking about their special ‘Breakfast boxes’ in a tweet, the NGO mentioned that it would deliver 18,000 nutritious breakfasts to 25 schools in South London. 

"The coronavirus crisis is having an unprecedented impact on children's lives-- their support systems ripped apart, their education lost, their access to food impacted," Euro News quoted Anna Kettley, director of programmes at UNICEF UK as saying.

First in 70 years

Elaborating further she said that through this ‘first in 70 years’ grant, the organization aims to reach most vulnerable children and ensure that they receive food required for their growth and development. She added that the organization aimed at helping the children thrive in the pandemic as well as beyond it. "We cannot continue to rely on civil society to fill the hunger gap as too many children will miss out on the nutrition they need to thrive,” she said.

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According to UNICEF, over 2.4 million children in the UK grow up in food-insecure households, and over a fifth of these households with children have gone hungry during the lockdown due to financial crisis. Through its £25,000 (approx. 34,000 US dollars) grant, the UN agency seeks to lift these destitute children from starvation and make Christmas more enjoyable for them. 

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(With inputs from ANI)

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