We (Aoife, Megan and Katie) all met through our involvement in voluntary work supporting displaced communities in Calais and campaigning against the hostile environment at the UK-France border. While in Calais we witnessed displaced communities facing deplorable living conditions, widespread lack of access to basic resources such as food, water and shelter, as well as ongoing human rights abuses perpetrated by the authorities. At a moment when hostility and racism against people seeking asylum and migrants is rapidly rising, and standing in solidarity is crucial, organisations supporting displaced communities are struggling to find the funding needed to keep projects going. That’s why grassroots, people-powered fundraising is more important than ever - and why we’re running the Rannoch Half Marathon to raise vital funds for CFC!

This is Aoife, and Megan’s first time running a half marathon and a big challenge for us! 🥵 We’re being encouraged along by our trusty coach Katie!

Keep reading below if you want to learn more about the political-humanitarian situation in Calais and about the work being down by CFC! ⬇️

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿

At any point across the year in Calais, anywhere between 500 and 2500 people will be sleeping rough at informal camps. Many people have fled war, conflict, persecution or political turmoil in their home countries, such as Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Kurdistan and Somalia. They are seeking safety in the UK, and, due to a lack of safe and accessible routes to claim asylum, will attempt dangerous journeys by boat or by lorry.

At the living sites, displaced communities face severe resource scarcity, with many people lacking adequate access to the most basic needs such as food, water, shelter, warmth, and clothing. State provisions and services are purposefully inadequate, and solidarity organisations attempting to provide support and fill the gaps are continuously unable to meet the critical levels of need.

The precarious situation people face is worsened by persistent harassment and oppression from the police and local authorities. The police evict people from the living sites every 48 hours, seizing tents, sleeping bags and personal belongings, even through the freezing winter months. The local authorities work to push displaced people out of Calais and to obstruct the work of solidarity organisations. Meanwhile, militarised interventions on the coastline mean deaths and injuries during attempted Channel crossings are rising. The hostile policies being carried out in Calais by French authorities are in large part funded by UK taxpayer money, which is being sent to France by the UK government.

𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗶𝘀 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲

Created in 2020 to address critical levels of food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic, CFC is a grassroots collective providing direct material support at the living sites through food, water, and waste management projects, as well as advocacy work. CFC’s food project centres around cooking ingredients delivered directly to the living sites, allowing displaced communities to cook for themselves, according to their personal tastes and schedules.

Since 2022, CFC have been facilitating access to water through the installation of 1,000 litre water tanks at the living sites around Calais. CFC are the main providers of clean water for people on the move in Calais. Their water project runs 365 days a year, focusing on reliable, fixed access within close proximity of people’s living spaces. In 2025, we provided over two million litres of water.

In Calais, people on the move have no access to bin bags, bins, or any kind of organised waste collection service, making it almost impossible to dispose of waste properly, especially with living sites often located on remote areas of disused land. To address this issue, CFC began organising regular litter picks at the living sites in 2023. Since then, more than 20,000 bags of rubbish have been collected in collective efforts by volunteers and residents of the living sites.

The Collective also undertakes advocacy work, engaging in various strategic forms of organising and collaborating closely with other organisations doing advocacy work at the border to push for adequate water access, waste management solutions at the living sites, and resist evictions. In 2025, CFC’s advocacy included taking the local authorities to court over the lack of waste management at the living sites, working with the press to denounce hostile migration policies and obstructions to water access, and providing supporting evidence to help resist evictions in the courts.

As an organisation, CFC is completely volunteer-run, with no salaried staff members. With multiple projects and a small team of volunteers, raising enough money to keep the projects going can be really challenging, particularly with less and less funding available from trusts and grants. Six years on from the founding of CFC, food insecurity remains a huge problem. However, CFC have been forced to reduce the scope of their food project due to lack of funding. The project has faced a serious risk of closure multiple times due to financial difficulties in recent years.

Having worked with CFC, we can vouch for the fact that the Collective are really great at making small amounts of money go a long way! With operational costs kept to an absolute minimum, all donations are stretched as far as possible to bring benefits for the communities CFC support.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲:

🚰 £10 covers the cost of replacing a stolen tap.

🍎 £15 pays for a food pack for a group of five people.

🚐 £80 buys a tank of fuel for our distribution van.

💧£150 buys a 1000L water tank.

🧅 £500 covers CFC’s food bank subscription for one month.

𝗔𝗻𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗴𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱! 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼, 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲! 🙏

Love and solidarity,

Megan, Aoife, and Katie 🩵