'Stopping hunger is about more than food'
Baptist minister Carol Bostridge has featured in a short film with rapper Professor Green to raise awareness about hunger in the UK
Carol Bostridge is part-time co-ordinator of the
Lewisham Foodbank;
Professor Green, real name Stephen Manderson, is a British rapper who has presented a number of television documentaries.
The film takes place at one of the Lewisham Foodbank sites, and begins and ends with Professor Green delivering a piece to camera. He explains that Trussell Trust foodbanks have given out more than a million emergency food parcels to people in crisis this year.
Reflecting on the impact of the welcome people receive at foodbanks, he states, ‘Stopping hunger is about more than food. And it starts with a little bit of kindness.’
‘It’s such a well made film,' said Carol, 'and such good publicity. Stephen (Professor Green) was wonderful – he listened and was kind to everyone.'
Carol was approached by the
Trussell Trust, which co-ordinates the only nationwide network of foodbanks in the country, about the possibility of being involved in a film created by consumer goods giant Unilever. The film highlights how this year
Tesco is donating 5p to the Trussell Trust on selected Unilever products such as Hellmann's, Knorr, Marmite, PG Tip’s and Colman’s. It would be fronted by Professor Green, who has several million followers across his social media feeds.
‘They said they were going to do it very sensitively, so it was win-win,’ said Carol, who has led the foodbank for four years and recently became
part-time regional minister in the London Baptist Association.
The film involves Professor Green chatting with foodbank volunteers and users to learn more about how it operates. Carol can be seen explaining to Professor Green how she’s stopped trying to work out whether people entering the foodbank are donating or in need: with 14 million people living below the poverty line, people from all walks of life need the foodbank.
The rapper has shared the film across his various social media platforms, where it has racked up thousands of views.
Carol says it's resulted in more donations and offers of help, but explained that demand for the foodbank’s services has gone up anyway.
‘We’ve had people asking to collect for us, and extra donations – though it’s always a busy time of the year, I think we’ve had more than we would normally receive.
‘Year on year, the demand always goes up – and we’ve not had the full roll out of Universal Credit. Whenever there is full roll-out, demand goes up.’
Baptist Times, 12/12/2018