Volunteers from 'Child & Breakfast' food project in Utrecht
Reading time 5 minutes
More and more places in the Netherlands need food aid. We expect this to expand further in the future. For example, the Red Cross distributes breakfast packs for children in Friesland, North Holland and Utrecht. We joined the Red Cross Utrecht volunteers working on a food project.
10:00 AM
GROCERIES ARRIVE
In the province of Utrecht, we started handing out breakfast bags in October 2022. We soon saw the need for these bags increasing. Within a few weeks, we expanded the number from 50 to 210. Now we make 210 breakfast bags every week. The groceries for these bags are delivered this morning around 10:00 AM. Suzan Pijls, Relief Efforts Coordinator: "We heard that more and more children go to school without having had breakfast, simply because their parents or guardians cannot afford it.
10:40 AM
WITH PARTNER ORGANISATIONS
We also help with the distribution of breakfast bags in other provinces. In Friesland, for instance, some 600 children receive a weekly breakfast pack. The bags have a value of around €10 and go to families whose children, until then, usually went to school on an empty stomach. It was too difficult for their parents or guardians to fix them a healthy breakfast. We distribute the packs together with partner organisations such as community centres. In Utrecht, we work with the community centres Stichting Toekomstpunt and Hartje van Kanaleneiland. They help us reach people who want to qualify for a breakfast package and with locations to hand them out. Together, we help those asking for help so that we can find a structural solution.
11:00 AM
PACKING FOR KANALENEILAND
After all the produce has been placed on the table, the volunteers start packing. Each bag will contain in any case vegetables, fruit, bread and milk. It usually includes toppings such as peanut butter or jam. If possible, we also add a bread substitute, such as oatmeal, rusks or crackers. With these ingredients, seven healthy breakfasts can be made for one child. Suzan: "People sometimes find it difficult to take the step to ask for help. We are just happy when people do, so we can help them further.”
11:15 AM
WE DO IT TOGETHER
With a group of up to four volunteers, we pack over two hundred bags every Tuesday and Wednesday, which are then handed over to people who have registered at the community centres.
12:20 PM
NEED FOR STRUCTURAL SOLUTION
Food support is not a core task of the Red Cross, yet we have stepped in since the COVID-19 outbreak. Suzan: "We will continue to help until the government has a structural solution. Purchasing power must increase and only after the first quarter of 2023 can we see whether current measures have the desired effect." We are also looking at other solutions with our partners. What other help do people need? For example, can we assist them in applying for benefits, schemes or a discount card? Or can we help them with finding a study programme or job? These topics come up in the conversations our cooperation partners have with families.
1:00 PM
DELIVERING BREAKFAST PACKS
Every Wednesday at around 1:00 PM, volunteer Sander brings breakfast packs to community centre Heart of Kanaleneiland. The food items are handed out by community centre staff and Red Cross volunteers. Children and/or parents come to collect the bags. With the packs, they’ll have enough food to last a couple of days. In another part of the city, in Overvecht, the bags are packed and distributed at the Stichting Toekomstpunt. Here too, the people from the community centre work together with our volunteers.
1:25 PM
PICKED UP
The people we support through this project are very different: from single parents with children to families with incomes just over the limit to qualify for the food bank. We also see people with high healthcare costs. Together with the cooperation partners, we appeal to the network in the city to provide healthy food to as many people as possible. We also hand out grocery cards. Then the recipients have the freedom to decide for themselves what kind of groceries they would like to buy.