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Sharing is Caring is a food service that serves students nationwide with the intention to expand internationally. The program’s focus is to identify area needs for food requirement amongst students first and utilise resources to satisfy those needs in order to eliminate hunger in our student community. We operate within the Welfare Office at our partnering universities so as to limit abuse of the service. Students are encouraged to volunteer in every aspect of the food service as voluntary work experience is highly recognised and preferred by many employers in varying sectors. It is deep sadness that we have identified a large community of students who do not eat on an average day to day basis simply because they cannot afford to. It is our intention to operate a warehouse facility at every university and college in the United Kingdom where we will store donated or rescued food for distribution to students. The program actively solicits food from retailers, wholesalers, and processors. In addition, we plan to collect food donations from restaurants for immediate distribution to service programs. It is estimated that the number of students who need services from us will increase during the next five years as the cost of living increases. Though there are a number of food banks available countrywide, there is that element of embarrassment that a student has to overcome to approach them. It is with this in mind that we are providing a more specific service solely for students. It is within our plan to have a smart phone application that allows students to indicate their need and desire for food. Sharing is Caring is therefore an important resource because we can respond quickly with the one of the most important resources these students need. Food! Our services help to improve the wellbeing and welfare of students and assist greatly in achieving goals that have been set. We know that our service is a small investment with regards to the influence hunger has on our health, however, it must be implemented as the cost of ignoring the problem regarding student hunger could possibly be detrimental in the long run especially in the face of rising university costs without added incentives. We all know that “hungry” should never be a pronoun for “student”, however; today sub-standardisation of this matter is a reality for some.

Our Story: I am Katie, mummy to my beautiful daughter Emily. Emily is an angel in the sky and she is my inspiration to raise money for the nurses that helped us so much. I had a fairly normal pregnancy up until 36 weeks when it was discovered that my baby was smaller than she should be. I had a week of scans and tests until it was decided to induce my labour. My labour was induced which ended with an emergency c-section. Emily was born at 9.56pm weighing a tiny 1.97kg, 4lb 5oz. Emily was rushed to the Neonatal unit to receive the care that she required. I finally met Emily 14 hours after she was born but the occasion had a grey cloud hanging over it as we had been informed that Emily possibly had a rare syndrome called “Edwards” or Trisomy 18, not that any of that mattered to me when I had my first cuddle with her. So small and tiny yet absolutely perfect, I was a mummy to a beautiful, amazing and strong little girl and I couldn’t have been prouder. The following day it was confirmed that Emily had Edwards Syndrome, a syndrome that was not compatible with life and we had been advised that Emily may only survive for 4 days. I felt my whole world turn upside down but I was determined that I was not leaving the hospital without my beautiful daughter. That day I packed up our things and we took our first ride home together. We had a wonderful christening that evening with friends and family and Emily enjoyed all the attention. The next day we met her nursing team "Children with Complex Needs Nurses" The matron of the team, Teresa came round to us at home and brought with her everything we needed to care for Emily at home.

Every month we aim to fundraise & donate 185 boxes to neonatal units in the UK, we support 27 different units including Milton Keynes, Birmingham Womens, Guys St Thomas, JR & L&D. Each box we create costs us £40. Each box contains the following: Knitted set - Hat, Bonding Squares, Cardi & Blanket Knitted set - Bonding Squares & Blanket Mum Toiletries Mum Toiletries Baby toiletries Baby toiletries Vanity Kit Vanity Kit 2x Vests Muslin Cloth 2x Baby Grows Tissues Muslin Cloth Water Bottle Tissues Note pad / Pen Chocolate Bar Hair bobble & Comb Water Bottle Magic Towels Note pad / Pen Cotton Wool Prem Milestone Cards Antibac Gel Hair bobble & Comb Chocolate Bar Antibac Gel Eye Mask 3x Nappies Magic Towels