{"id":27081,"date":"2020-12-25T08:00:13","date_gmt":"2020-12-25T08:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=27081"},"modified":"2020-12-27T15:46:46","modified_gmt":"2020-12-27T15:46:46","slug":"unites-food-warriors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=27081","title":{"rendered":"Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0098food warriors\u00e2\u20ac\u2122"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It is true to say that this Christmas certainly won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be like any other \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but for all the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We see the adverts every day. While the shiny families enjoy idealised Christmas Days, and the perfect children open heaps of presents \u00e2\u20ac\u201c many of us stare dismayed at the TV \u00e2\u20ac\u201cworrying about how they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll put food on the Christmas table \u00e2\u20ac\u201c let alone afford to buy gifts for our young ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But outside of the TV-land version of Christmas, there are some truly incredible Unite members among us who are going the whole hog to give families food for their table and gifts for children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christmas is a time of magic and Unite has just launched a Christmas appeal to help families finding it tough right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helping families since the pandemic first came to these shores in March, is Northern Ireland\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Unite in the Community Co-ordinator, Albert Hewitt \u00e2\u20ac\u201c determined to help bring some seasonal spirit to local families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Albert told UNITElive, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re working in partnership with other organisations and mostly focusing on those who have lost their jobs since the outbreak began. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve set up food collection points for members to leave food donations, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been working with food banks, making up and delivering food hampers.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hewitt and his relentless team of \u00e2\u20ac\u0098food warriors\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 know no bounds. On the streets of Northern Ireland\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s towns and cities, they go wherever they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve given out literally thousands of food hampers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c too many to count,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just about food. The team have been keeping in touch with senior citizens and helping families. Manufacturing members have been making PPE and Hewitt and the team have been out to care homes delivering face masks, plastic aprons and other equipment to where it was needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been consistently working with members that have lost their jobs, senior citizens, the working poor and any members that need help, since March. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re here to help,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 adds Albert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile 450 miles away in Norwich, fellow Unite food hero Brian Green and the local community team at the Phoenix Centre are working flat out to ensure hunger has no place at this festive season\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bDo you know some kind person came into the Phoenix Centre today, bringing whole trays of homemade sandwiches \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re really very lucky,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Unite Community member and anti-hunger campaigner Brian Green told me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working out of the Phoenix Centre, the team have been feeding whoever turns up \u00e2\u20ac\u201c first during the school holidays, then over the Christmas season. Unite Community and local community volunteers have pulled together to make the Phoenix the helping and welcoming place for families it has become.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year with the challenges of the first and now the second Covid lockdown the team and their workload has grown exponentially. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bEveryone wants to help,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 says Brian, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bsupport for us has ballooned since the pandemic.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been working against holiday hunger for three and a half years now as a trade union with Unite Community and industrial members,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he reports<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the work never stops. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been supporting people since the beginning of the outbreak. Families, those who have lost their jobs, been made redundant, or who are just finding life tough right now. Demand has gone up five-fold. Everyone is welcome. They can just turn up \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we never ask questions.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Christmas getting ever closer Brian and the team have everything in hand for the big day. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis year we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be taking orders from families for hampers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c everything they need for a Christmas Day chicken or turkey lunch. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re expecting to give out 150 to 200 hampers,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 says Brian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a Christmas Day hamper is just for, well, Christmas. And unlike most charities the Phoenix team will be serving hot and cold lunch choices throughout the festive period \u00e2\u20ac\u201c with the option of a hamper for New Year too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI believe it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s vital to continue over the Christmas period,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 says Brian. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bHunger doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stop for Christmas and neither do we.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we go to press Unite is now running a national Unite Christmas Appeal to help out members and families finding life tough right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite assistant secretary Steve Turner launched the Unite Christmas Appeal in November. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite is determined to do all it can to help,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Turner. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bSolidarity is about looking after one another, which is why as a union we are not prepared to sit back while families struggle to feed their families or buy Christmas toys for their kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMany of our branches already support their local food banks, which is fantastic. But if yours doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, please link up with Unite Community branches and make a real difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite knows that food banks and charity are not the solution to the hunger children face. As a union we will continue to put pressure on the government to address the issues that cause poverty. Higher wages and a fairer social security system must be part of the way forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur union\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s branches and amazing members can make a real difference to so many this winter. And you could be a part of that,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Unite food solidarity fund<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worry if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re reading this after Christmas and you and your branch wants to help \u00e2\u20ac\u201c you still can.  \u00e2\u20ac\u015bOne branch told us that \u00c2\u014150 pays for one pallet of food,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Steve said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bSo let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s keep helping our communities. If the government cuts the \u00c2\u014120 increase in April which is what they still plan to do it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be severe hardship for 6m people,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out more<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Branches should contact their Community coordinator on community@unitetheunion.org<\/a> to find out how to help. Join Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s food for all revolution today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Amanda Campbell  @amanda_unite<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is true to say that this Christmas certainly won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be like any other \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but for all the wrong reasons. We see the adverts every day. While the shiny families enjoy idealised Christmas Days, and the perfect children open heaps of presents \u00e2\u20ac\u201c many of us stare dismayed at the TV \u00e2\u20ac\u201cworrying about how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22381,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[1528,648,1482,1271,219,232],"wps_subtitle":"A Christmas lunch really is just for Christmas. Find out what two of our hundreds of Unite food heroes are doing to make a difference \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and support Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s campaigns","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27081"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27081"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27083,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27081\/revisions\/27083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}