I enjoy food, and eating what I want when I want, so when Farouk asked me to take part in the Himmah food parcel challenge, it was not without some apprehension that I agreed. A combination of laziness and poor planning meant that my diet for the first 36 hours consisted solely of porridge and Bourbon biscuits. I managed to get my act together on the second day however, and finally made use of some of the more substantive ingredients in the parcel. Whilst porridge remained a staple for the rest of the week, I branched out to making pasta, rice, and vegetable stews with the tinned produce. The challenge unfortunately coincided with a work colleague leaving. As a result, our staff room has been filled with baked goods, sweet treats, and copious amounts of pizza all week… it was not great timing.

These five days have been the longest I’ve ever gone without consuming a single piece of fresh fruit or veg. This week I’ve seen food differently-  as a luxury and a comfort, and it’s made me realise that so much of what we consume is mindless. Now I see it for what it is in its most basic form- fuel and a necessity. It has been a humbling and eye-opening experience, and I’m incredibly grateful to have taken part. Relying on these parcels is a reality for millions in our society, including children, and the number of food banks has sky-rocketed in recent years. Thank you so much to everyone who has donated - your kind contributions have gone a long way towards supporting a really noble cause.