Christmas food shop because the Tories suck

Hi, I’m Laurie Malyon! You might remember me from such fundraisers as “Hot Lunches Because the Tories Suck” back in October when the government refused to feed kids and I drove hot lunches, Sunday roast dinners and did food shops for disadvantaged families!

Christmas is nearly upon us once again! And what a year it’s been! Whilst a lot of my peers have been gearing up for the festive season, my thoughts have been stuck on families who struggle not only around Christmas, but most of the time. What I want to do is provide ten families with a Big Food Shop. And I’m talking the whole shebang - a full Christmas dinner spread, laundry powder, nappies, cleaning products and enough food to last them a fortnight over Christmas. Having a Big Food Shop paid for and delivered to the door can genuinely mean the difference between a nice happy Christmas with full bellies, or a mum putting on a cheery face with what she’s been able to afford. I want to be able to give this to people to ease the pressure after a horrible year.

I truly see a happy Christmas as a privilege. If you don’t have to worry about where the money will come from to squeeze pigs in blankets into your weekly food budget, you’re far better off than many around you. I’ve spoken before about how the benefit system, the catastrophic redundancies and pure and simple poverty have a detrimental impact on families across the country, and the almost year long pandemic has substantially affected people from all walks of life. I’ve spoken about the shame people feel for relying on food banks. I’ve spoken about the extremely basic impracticalities of doing a food shop when you’re a low income household; if you don’t have a car, your only option is to head to your nearest supermarket on foot in all weather conditions with a pram or a few toddlers with only a backpack and a few ratty plastic bags to fill up with what you can afford. I used to live a half hour walk to my nearest  supermarket and would head out in the snow with my pram if my dad couldn’t give me a lift. I want to take this stress away for some people if I can.

I’ve contacted a few supermarkets to ask for donations, and the ever wonderful Anna at Loves will be sourcing fresh vegetables to include in the food shops. I’m hoping to deliver these a few days before Christmas but will update everyone when I have a better idea, and if you are reading this and would like a food shop, please drop me a message.

Please donate if you can, but only if you’ve taken care of you and yours first.