Cost of living crisis: Children's charity shuts foodbank to focus on activity help

The charity said it shut the foodbank it set up during the Covid-19 pandemic in order to focus on supporting families as they face cutting activities

A charity has closed its foodbank to concentrate on its core work of providing activities for children due to the cost of living crisis.

Spotlight UK Basingstoke said it made the decision as "activities may have to be curbed by a lot of families".

The charity, set up 13 years ago, supports children across Hampshire and Berkshire, through dance, performing arts and sports activities.

It said it had referred the people it had been supporting to other foodbanks.

The charity works with local schools to offer free dance and drama classes, and also provides low cost days out for children aged five to 16.

'Carry on being children'

In a statement on its Facebook page, the charity said: "Children are going to be impacted so much with this cost of living crisis emotionally, with activities likely to be cut because parents cannot afford them.

"We need to help so they can carry on being children instead of worrying about adult stresses or worrying about their parents.

"Activities and creating new memories is so important."

Since it was set up during the pandemic the foodbank in Hart House has helped to provide more than 600,000 meals across Basingstoke and West Berkshire.

The charity said: "We are so grateful to the support we have received from Hart House and everyone who has supported our food bank over the years".