Children in Lichfield are being invited to create a poem about hunger as part of a national competition.
The Trussell Trust is launching on youngsters aged under nine to draw a hungry character and tell its story in poetry as part of an initiative to end the need for food banks.
The top twenty entries will be published in a poetry book for the Bye Bye Hunger campaign.
The initiative comes after figures revealed 2,750 emergency food parcels were distributed for children in Lichfield over the past year – up from 1,441 in the previous 12 months.
The Bye Bye Hunger competition was inspired by a mother who sent a poem to the Trussell Trust earlier this year about how she was judged for needing a food bank to feed her child.
Her words were turned into a short film:
A panel of celebrity judges – including comedian Dom Joly, actress Tamzin Outhwaite and Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell – have been chosen to select the winning entries for the Bye Bye Hunger competition.
Tamzin Outhwaite said:
“The mother’s poem was just so heart-breaking – we must stop and reflect on this and create a hunger free future together.
“The Bye Bye Hunger poetry competition is a wonderful way for kids to share their amazing imaginations and show us all what a hunger free future looks like.”
Tamzin Outhwaite
Children have until 30th May to submit their entries. For more details on how to enter visit www.trusselltrust.org/poems.
