Sainsbury’s and Comic Relief have set out a new ambition to raise £30m in the next five years to provide millions of meals to children and families across the UK.
The supermarket giant has been working with Comic Relief for almost three decades. In 2022, the pair launched ‘Nourish the Nation’, a programme specifically designed to tackle food insecurity. Since then, Sainsbury’s and Comic Relief have donated the equivalent of 60 million meals.
This new goal looks to double this work, with the ambition of donating the equivalent of 120 million meals to the charity’s partners by 2030.
“No child should go to bed hungry, yet today this is the reality facing far too many families across the UK,” said Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts.
“Building on our decades-long partnership with Comic Relief, we’re setting a bold new ambition to change this by raising £30m for Comic Relief by 2030, helping us to reach a total of 120 million meals donated to children and families across the UK since 2022.”
This summer, Roberts said the grocer would be “stepping up” its fundraising ambitions by matching every pound raised by its colleagues and customers.
“These vital funds will support Comic Relief to drive action across industry initiatives that will help improve children’s health, support families and make sure everyone has the support systems they need,” he added.
It comes as new research released today (12 May) by Comic Relief and Sainsbury’s found that 18% of parents across the UK said they have had to put their children to bed hungry or without enough food at least once a week in the past 12 months due to issues accessing or affording enough food.
Meanwhile, 26% of parents surveyed have pretended there is more food in the house than there actually is to avoid upsetting their children, while 32% have skipped meals weekly in the past 12 months so their children can eat.
To highlight these issues, a new short film has been released on YouTube featuring actor Jodie Whittaker, who narrates a new poem written by screenwriter, director and Comic Relief co-founder Richard Curtis.
The poem, ‘Let’s Put Hunger to Bed’, is inspired by lived experiences of parents and children affected by food insecurity.
Curtis added: “We are hugely grateful to the parents who have shared their experiences and helped inspire the poem. While the research shows the scale of hunger and hardship facing families across the UK, it’s incredibly important to make sure the voices of families are heard and to tell stories grounded in the reality of what’s happening in homes across the country. That’s how we can truly understand how urgent this issue is.
“The work Comic Relief and Sainsbury’s are doing together to help get millions more meals to children and families is crucial, and has never been more needed.”
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