Food for Thought
Food for Thought Ǝncore Theatre Company and Lucy Scammell Directed by: Lucy Scammell Assistant Director: Lauren Sammé (Royal Central School of Speech and Drama) Production team: Keiron Spires, Yuqi Wen (Goldsmiths, University of London) Script Development: Anna Brown & Sandra Melville Rehearsal Support: Sean Kibbey
Food for Thought first presented at Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses, London, on 28th & 29th July 2023.
The cast as follows:
Michael: Richard Russell Kitty: Jenni Wredden Petronella: Yvonne Levy Sylvia: Jeanie Deane Lyndsey: Viv Peyton Shirley: Judy Elphinstone Audrey: Judith Bevan Kirsty: Cathy Jeffrey Cleopatra: Sue Thomas Tarquin: Richard Worland
Food was our starting point. Food is a necessity. Food is a function. Food is a love language. Food is life. Food contributes to your health. Food contributes to your mood. Food contributes to Climate Change. The list is endless.
Food is many things, in many ways. Food contributes to many things, in many ways. Everyone needs food.
Ǝncore created Food for Thought to creatively explore food, while highlighting the current food bank crisis in our communities. Designed to be thought provoking, informative and entertaining, it included comedy, drama, dance and song suitable for everyone at any age.
It is widely reported that our food banks are struggling to meet the record demand they are experiencing. It is for that reason we asked the audience to bring an item to donate. All donations were received by the Norwood & Brixton Foodbank.
Food Banks In 1997 Carol and Paddy Henderson founded The Trussell Trust based on a legacy left by Carols mother, Betty Trussell. At first projects focussed on improving conditions for 60+ children sleeping at Central Railway Station in Bulgaria. Then in 2000 Paddy received a call from a mother in Salisbury who was struggling to provide food for her children and faced sending them to bed hungry. Paddy looked into the situation and found that many were struggling in the same way. As a result he set up the first food bank in his shed and garage, providing 3 days emergency food to local people in crisis. The model spread rapidly through church networks and 23 years later there are 2000 food banks in the UK with little indication of the need lessening.
Everything we said about UK food banks was true. If you would like to learn more, find out how to access food bank vouchers, or locate your nearest food bank, we found the below sources particularly helpful:
https://www.helplondon.co.uk https://www.trusselltrust.org/ https://thefelixproject.org/ https://foodbank.org.uk/ https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk Your local council, GPs and the Government website also have further information. Food banks often have financial advice services available. Further support is available via the ‘Welfare Assistance Scheme’ and ‘Household Support Fund’.
