Ben’s Original and Dolmio have partnered with the Trussell Trust for the second year in a row.
The brands are donating £100,000 to the charity in 2021 as part of an ongoing partnership to Stand Against Hunger in the UK and support its network of 1,300 food banks nationwide.
The campaign is supported by branded packs of Dolmio that are available in store now, as well as in-store activations. A film featuring food bank volunteers, to showcase the work that the Trussell Trust does, will also be going live across Dolmio & Ben's Original social channels.
“We believe everyone deserves a seat at the table and no one deserves to go hungry,” Giulia Somma at Mars Food UK said.
“We’ve teamed up with Trussell Trust to support their 1,300 foodbanks and help give everyone access to the meals we all deserve. It’s also important that those in need get all the advice and support they need to support themselves and their families.”
The latest campaign follows a study of 1,000 school-aged kids, commissioned by Ben’s Original, that found that despite eating their last snack or meal as late as 7:02pm, 67 per cent claim to have gone to bed feeling ravenous, while 88 per cent wake up feeling hungry the next morning.
It also emerged that 12:05pm – just ahead of lunch – is the time children are most likely to complain about needing something to eat. Although the hunger described by many children in the survey was not the acute hunger people unable to afford the essentials, the partnership is encouraging people to imagine how difficult it must be for parents struggling to afford the basics when their children ask for another snack.
“Food banks hear heart-breaking stories each week of children and adults facing hunger because there just isn’t enough money to put food on the table. This isn’t right,” Garry Lemon, director of research and policy at the Trussell Trust, said.
“We need to work together as a society to take a stand against hunger in the UK and make those changes that would mean we can all afford the essentials. We’re very grateful to Mars Food for their support, which helps us support food banks and work towards a future where everyone has enough money for the essentials.”
