For five days in July, 16 year old Annie Swimer and Ethan Colton and 4 of their friends spent £1 a day on their food to help raise money and awareness for Muswell Hill Food Bank, raising more than £2,000!
Annie said “After weeks of debating how we could help raise the most money for the foodbank, we all agreed on this one challenge. It not only was an effective way to raise money, but allowed us to raise awareness of the challenges people face living on the poverty line.
I can say with confidence that it was not an easy task. As a group, we planned all of our meals previously, making sure we had a balanced diet. Then I had to go out and buy ingredients. I also had to make time in the day to cook all of my own meals, which I do not normally have to do.
I constantly felt very hungry, which made it difficult for me to concentrate or do lots of activity during the day, and I found it challenging not to snack, which I normally do a lot!
From taking part in the Eat for Less to Raise More challenge, I learnt that I am very privileged to have access to the food that I do. Furthermore, I am more determined to help raise as much money as possible for the foodbank, as I know now from experience how difficult it is to live on £1 a day. We also did a lot of research into Muswell Hill foodbank, learning all about its amazing work to help our community, which encourages me to make a change and do more fundraising!”
Ethan said “Over the last few months, in order to raise money for the Muswell Hill Food Bank, I, along with people in my year and the year below from Muswell Hill Synagogue, planned and then completed a challenge where we ate for five days on a budget of only five pounds.
I did this because I felt that it was a really good way to give back to the community, and help raise money for the Muswell Hill Food Bank, so that they could help those people who need it.
The whole experience really opened my eyes and showed just how difficult it is to live in poverty, even when it is just in terms of food. I didn’t realise before how little variety one has in their diet, and how challenging it is to limit how much you can spend on food, or how much work it requires to find the cheapest meals to make, and where to buy the food from.
I think I would do it again to raise more money for the Muswell Hill Food Bank, as I think it is a very important cause, and a great place to raise money for.”