Wanstead’s Tin in a Bin charity – which celebrates its third anniversary this month – has partnered with Redbridge Council to help feed more children during the school holidays. Suzanne Paterson reports
Since October 2021, Redbridge Council has funded 500,000 free school meals through the holidays to help ensure children don’t go hungry. The council is now partnering with Tin in a Bin to help additional families who may not be able to access this support.
It was Jamie Oliver’s campaign highlighting the impact the cost-of-living crisis is having on children ineligible for free school meals that got the Tin in a Bin team thinking of ways we could help in Redbridge. We decided two things; firstly, we needed to work with all schools in Redbridge via the council’s education department to identify the families that needed meal vouchers for the school holidays; and secondly, that we needed to be a bit more creative than just asking for money. Redbridge Council was simultaneously thinking of ways to support families in need.
Tin in a Bin has 50-plus volunteers covering a wide range of skill sets, so it wasn’t long before we identified that one of the team works in the education department and that we had a group that loved putting on events!
And so we organised two drag queen bingo fundraisers in March, with all proceeds supporting the Easter Holiday Food Support campaign. The council also relaunched their GoFundMe page as used during Covid to buy computer equipment for families. And a big thank you to Le Marmiton for their generous support. Together, we raised over £4,000, which will help over 200 children across the borough. Every £20 raised will feed one child for the whole of the Easter break. The GoFundMe page remains open for donations as the scheme has been extended into the summer holidays.
The Leader of Redbridge Council, Councillor Jas Athwal, said: “No child should go hungry, and in Redbridge, we’re making sure they never do, making it easier than ever for families to access free school meals for their children through the school holidays. This is a fantastic partnership that will support some of our most vulnerable neighbours and complement the free school meals programme we already deliver.”
Tin in a Bin started during the first COVID lockdown in April 2020, and now has a network of over 50 food donation points in Wanstead, Woodford and beyond. Our donors provide food and funding, which has enabled us to support local food banks with well over 150 tonnes of food and other essential items since we started. The Tin in a Bin team would like to thank everyone for their continued support; we recognise times are tough for everyone, but if you can, please pop a couple of tins a week in your nearest ‘Tin Bin’ (see wnstd.com/tinabsites). All donations make a difference and are gratefully received.
To donate, visit wnstd.com/holidayfood
For more information on Tin in a Bin, email tinab.wanstead@gmail.com
