Olympic boxer joins fight to make vegetable poverty history in Hackney
Donning white boxing gloves, Olympic champion Nicola Adams joined the fight to end veg poverty. - Credit: David Parry/PA Wire
An Olympic boxing champion has helped launch what is believed to be the UK's first frozen veggie foodbank in Hackney.
Olympian Nicola Adams OBE, who became the first female boxer to win gold at the Olympics in London 2012, joined plant-based food company Strong Roots and online food donation platform, Bankuet, in the fight against vegetable poverty today.
Donning boxing gloves, Nicola met with Bankuet volunteers ahead of the foodbank's official launch on Friday (January 29).
She shared her passion for the health benefits of fruit and vegetables as a regular addition to everyone's diet and her own experiences growing up with food instability.
Nicola said she was "proud" to be part of the initiative: "I understand first-hand the struggle and the sacrifices made by families just to put food on the table.
"It’s hard enough just having enough food to eat, let alone being able to access good, nutritious food. Veg should be accessible to all, whatever your personal circumstances, because it is fundamental to our health."
Strong Roots' mission to end veg poverty follows its own research conducted by pollsters Explain The Market this year.
As part of their new campaign, Strong Roots will be supplying freezers as well as food to the Bankuet network across the country. - Credit: David Parry/PA Wire
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The study revealed one in four Britons from lower-income households consider themselves to be in vegetable poverty.
London had higher levels than anywhere else in the country, with two in five Londoners from lower-income households unable to access or afford the government's recommended five-a-day of fruit and veg.
The Frozen Veggie Food Bank will operate over four consecutive weekends at a time of year when food insecurity is at its highest and will hand out supplies of Strong Roots plant-based products and frozen veg, plus other food essentials.
It will act as an overspill foodbank supporting users from Bow Foodbank and Bethnal Green Foodbank, which are not able to accommodate freezers.
The Frozen Veggie Food Bank has been set up by Strong Roots and Bankuet to provide anyone who visits with access to frozen vegetables, as more often than not, the storage and distribution of frozen food proves to be a challenge for food banks. - Credit: David Parry/PA Wire
However, people can turn up on the day, every Friday and Saturday in February, to be served without a referral from a foodbank.
It is located at Unit 11, Bohemia Place, Mare Street, London, E8 1DU and will launch on January 29.
Visit StrongRoots.com to find out more and about how to get involved.
Nicola Adams OBE was the first ever woman to win gold in boxing. - Credit: David Parry/PA Wire
Olympian Nicola Adams OBE visits the UK's first Frozen Veggie Food Bank in Hackney. - Credit: David Parry/PA Wire
Nicola helped prepare the food bank for its official launch in Hackney on Friday. - Credit: David Parry/PA Wire
