Ben’s Original™, together with Dolmio®, are continuing to partner with the Trussell Trust for the second year in a row.
This is part of the wider Mars Food Purpose – Better Food Today, A Better World Tomorrow – is a commitment to help give everyone access to the nutritious meals that we all deserve and to champion the benefits of shared dinnertimes.
However, for the 14m people in the UK living in poverty, one of the biggest barriers to eating dinner together is being able to afford the meal. 4.5m of those people living in poverty are children, and 1 in 4 parents will skip a meal if it means their child can have dinner.
A study of 1,000 school-aged kids, commissioned by Ben’s Original, found that despite eating their last snack or meal as late as 7:02pm, 67 per cent claim to have gone to bed feeling ravenous, while 88 per cent wake up feeling hungry the next morning. It also emerged that 12:05pm – just ahead of lunch – is the time children are most likely to complain about needing something to eat. Although the hunger described by many children in the survey was not the acute hunger people unable to afford the essentials,* the partnership is encouraging people to imagine how difficult it must be for parents struggling to afford the basics when their children ask for another snack.**
Children surveyed for the report said this has a huge impact on their day-to-day life, with 39 per cent of children saying they feel moody (39 per cent), tired (34 per cent) and get easily distracted (26 per cent) when they are hungry.
This chimes with wider research on the impact of poverty and hunger, which highlights the numerous health impacts of going without food – from feeling cold and lacking energy through to the impact on people’s physical and mental health – and the stigma involved, with parents often going without to shield their children as far as they are able to.*
Through the partnership with the Trussell Trust, Ben’s Original™ and Dolmio® will Stand Against Hunger for UK families, by donating £100,000 to support the 1,300 foodbanks in their network across the UK and encourage everyone to support the Trussell Trust.
The campaign is supported by branded packs of Dolmio that are available in store now, as well as instore activations. A film featuring food bank volunteers, to showcase the work that the Trussell Trust does, will also be going live across Dolmio & Ben’s Original social channels.
Giulia Somma at Mars Food UK said: “We believe everyone deserves a seat at the table and no one deserves to go hungry. We’ve teamed up with Trussell Trust to support their 1,300 foodbanks and help give everyone access to the meals we all deserve. It’s also important that those in need get all the advice and support they need to support themselves and their families.”
Garry Lemon, Director of Research and Policy at the Trussell Trust added: “Every parent knows what it’s like to be told their child wants another snack, but imagine how hard that must be for parents struggling to afford the essentials. Food banks hear heart-breaking stories each week of children and adults facing hunger because there just isn’t enough money to put food on the table. This isn’t right. We need to work together as a society to take a stand against hunger in the UK and make those changes that would mean we can all afford the essentials. We’re very grateful to Mars Food for their support, which helps us support food banks and work towards a future where everyone has enough money for the essentials.”
This partnership with the Trussell Trust is just one of the community outreach programs Ben’s Original™ is undertaking across the world to create meals, experiences and opportunities that enhance inclusion and equity for every one of us.
Find out how to support here.
Comments are closed.