Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

So, a massive challenge for me... All money raised will go a very worthwhile local charity (The Mathew Tree Project). This charity not only supplies food around the city through a number of food banks. They also provide many other essential services to help the regaining of food independence whilst addressing the underlying causes of the problems. 

I know I take food for granted and I'm aware of my own wasted food, so feel that by restricting my budget, I will make smarter decisions with my meals. 

£45 broken down works out on average £1.50 per day (or 50p per meal) this needs to cover any snacks and drinks too. There is one evening where I will have to make an exception, I have planned a BBQ on the 12th June. This has been in the diary for ages and I don't want to delay the challenge. I have paid for the BBQ and will accept any drinks bought that evening from others. For the rest of the month, I cannot accept food, drink or ingredients from anyone.

My aim as a vegetarian will be to ensure that my meals includes a healthy balance of food. Daily pulses,  5 fruit and veg per day, I will have to get creative! That said, I will have unhealthy food at times & I must emphasis that this is NOT a diet!!! I won't be weighing myself, missing meals or reducing portion sizes.

I'm guesstimating I would usually spend £300 per month on food and drink. This includes eating/drinking out and supermarket shopping. I will therefore donate the £255 I'm saving to the charity myself.

I will make one post per day showing my meals and a link food related article that may be interesting for others.

Please please please give generously!

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The Matthew Tree Project is not a food bank operator. Rather, our pioneering Food Plus model of poverty alleviation in a sustainable and transformational way works on two different levels: 

Firstly, it is in the way the essential services needed are integrated which makes it unique. And this is underpinned upon the building of meaningful relationships with those affected to empower people to take control of their lives, providing the practical support needed so that a pathway out of the poverty trap can be found. 

Secondly, it works top-down by engaging with local and national government to effect systemic change towards a fairer, more equal, and more enterprising society with opportunities for skills training and employment for all.

The Matthew Tree Project currently deliver its services through a network of Food Plus Centres located in the most deprived wards of the city of Bristol and support over 2,000 of the most disadvantaged people and families annually.

http://www.the-matthew-tree-project.org

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.