ALL three Liverpool foodbanks are among more than 40 organisations to receive grants from the Mayor’s Hope Fund to fight food poverty this Christmas.

The foodbanks, co-ordinated by the Trussell Trust, in the north, south and east of the city have received £10,000 each, while more than £110,000 has been given to organisations across Liverpool.

They include children’s charity KIND, which also receives £10,000 and Liverpool Samaritans and the Whitechapel Centre receiving £5,000 each.

Foodbank volunteers received their cheques from Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson at the Town Hall on December 11 where they were joined by the Joint Trade Unions Committee (JTUC) because some of their members’ wages lost through strike action earlier this year was added to the Fund.

Earlier in the day Mayor Anderson also handed over a cheque to KIND’s Stephen Yip at the charity’s base in Toxteth.

Mayor Anderson said: “I hope that this money will go some way to making it a better holiday season for hundreds of people and families who really struggle at this time of year. All the organisations who receive grants do fantastic work in helping those who need it most.

“I would like to offer my great thanks to those organisations and individuals who have throughout the year contributed to the Mayor’s Hope Fund.

“I am also particularly pleased that JTUC agreed that it was a great idea if the Fund could be boosted with some of the money from the one day strike’s lost wages rather than provide a saving for the city council meaning that the Fund’s impact will be so much greater.

“I also wanted to support the important service Samaritan volunteers provide at this time of year helping people with emotional distress and who are struggling to cope.

“I hope we can continue to raise money and awareness to help those suffering in our city and I would like to invite further applications from organisations that deliver such a valuable service in 2015.”

The Mayor’s Hope Fund was launched in January this year and awarded £32,000 in its first round of grants in March with 15 organisations receiving grants.

The Fund’s aim is to identify specific projects to enhance and grow the level of service that each organisation or foodbank can continue its work to alleviate poverty. Examples include creating storage space and distribution centres, recruiting and training volunteers, collecting and delivering food, buying equipment or setting up food growing schemes.

Bobby Daniels, Chair of the JTUC, said: ‘We are pleased to support the work of the Mayor’s Hope Fund in tackling food poverty. It is shocking that people are going hungry in 21st century Britain, it shows the need for a change in government policy. Foodbanks provide a vital service and the Mayor’s Hope Fund provides support right across the City and we wanted to find a way to help support that work.”

Stephen Yip, founder and chief executive at KIND said: “Every year, we work with thousands of children, young people and families across Liverpool and the city region, developing new and imaginative ways to help them cope with many forms of disadvantage, including hunger.

“KIND is making a difference with our Christmas Appeal and this money from the Mayor’s Hope Fund is incredibly welcome and vitally important in our efforts to support children and families at a time of year that can be both bleak and stressful and unhappy.”

Cllr Frank Hont, cabinet member for Social Inclusion, Fairness & Equalities, added: “The Mayor’s Hope Fund has provided a tremendous boost to the wide range of activities that the city council is involved in supporting our most vulnerable citizens.

“The impact of Government’s welfare reforms and the general squeeze on wages has meant that more and more people in the city are experiencing financial difficulties and at times are struggling to cope.

“The Council determined to do what it can to support those families in these times of austerity.”

Other Mayor’s Hope Fund recipients are: