Over 200 restaurants across the UK, including Yo! Sushi, Hakkasan and Darjeeling Express, are encouraging diners to donate £1 per bill to support Love Food Give Food.  

This September and October, Action Against Hunger is inviting restaurants across the UK, to partake in its ‘Love Food Give Food’ campaign. By adding just £1 to their bill at the end of the meal, foodies are raising vital funds to support communities in the UK and across the world who are facing life-threatening hunger.  

 

The £1 contributions from this year’s donations will go towards those suffering from hunger and malnutrition in the UK and around the world. The charity supports community kitchen and malnutrition treatment centres, water, sanitation and healthcare projects, and those assisting people impacted by Covid-19.

Life-threatening hunger crisis

 

Right now, the lives of 11 million children under five are at risk because of life-threatening hunger – that’s four times the number of people who lost their lives in the first year of the pandemic.  

 

Additionally, WHO (World Health Organisation) estimates that 265 million people around the world are currently facing a hunger crisis – a rise of 130 million on the pre-pandemic figure. In the UK alone, 1.97 million people within the UK are undernourished according to The Food Foundation.

10 years of Love Food Give Food

 

“This year we celebrate Love Food Give Food’s 10th anniversary. We have had fantastic support from the hospitality industry over the last 10 years, which has raised over £3 million and supported 17 million people. The money raised by restaurants and their diners has helped fight against hunger and malnutrition in 46 countries, including here in the UK,” advised Jean-Michel Grand, Executive Director of Action Against Hunger.  

  

“We are delighted that we have so many fantastic venues supporting this year too,” he continued. “Over 200 restaurants across the UK have confirmed their participation from 1 September. Restaurants include Yo! Sushi, Hakkasan, Darjeeling Express through to Hawksmoor and Caravan.”  

 

Mr Grand continued that the world is facing a global hunger pandemic with millions of people suffering from lack of food due to poverty, climate change, conflict and Covid. “Our UK restaurants and those eating out are in a fantastic and unique position to make an impact in the fight against global hunger,” he added.

Life-saving therapeutic food 

 

Across the UK the average meal out is £25 for a couple. The price for this meal is the same cost to fund an emergency kitchen kit for a family of five people, the charity said. If the meal were to cost £42, that’s the same cost as a 6-week treatment of ready-to-use therapeutic food to help save a malnourished child’s life. 

 

The donation of £1 on your restaurant bill provides a mother with a day’s worth of life-saving therapeutic food to treat her malnourished child. The right nutrition in the first one-thousand days of a child’s development is vital for a chance of a healthy life. 

 

Women, infants and children are often more vulnerable to malnutrition across the world. Of the 690 million people who are food insecure worldwide (including the UK), 60 per cent  are women. When families experience  economic hardship, mothers are usually the first to sacrifice their food to feed their children.

The list of restaurants participating in the Love Food, Give Food campaign includes: Hawksmoor, Hakkasan, The Pig, Maray, Norma, Fazenda, Red Carnation Hotels, Brindisa Tapas Group, Michael Caines Dining, The Ninth, The New World Trading Co, Caravan, Mill Kitchen, Darjeeling Express, Rose Four Ltd, Shake Shack, Gusto Restaurants, Mildreds, Hart’s Group, Rhubarb Hospitality, Pastaio, Five Fields, Quality Chop House, The Patricia, 2Veneti, BoxE, Hope Street Hotel, Adam’s, Ennismore, Drapers Arms, Smokestak, Hoopers, Castle Farm, Murano, Yo! Sushi 

 

For more information on Love Food Give Food, and to know which retailers and venues are signed up, visit: www.actionagainsthunger.org.uk