# Convenience Store Food Donations St John’s Budgens Fights Children's Food Poverty in New Campaign By Grace Mahas | Published 2020-10-26 | Social Good Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/st-johns-budgens References: [talkingretail](https://www.talkingretail.com/news/industry-news/convenience-retailers-step-into-free-meals-row-with-support-for-local-school-children-26-10-2020/) & [kidsmealsmap](https://www.kidsmealsmap.co.uk/) St John’s Budgens, a convenience store located in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, recently pledged its supports for the Marcus Rashford [food poverty campaign](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/share-our-strength) in light of recent news that [school meal vouchers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/aldi-backtoschool-fund) will not cover all holiday periods. St John's Budgens will now allow school children visiting the store and accompanied by an adult to claim [free food for their lunch](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/holidays-without-hunger). Avtar “Sid” Sidhu, the owner of the St John’s Budgens, commented on the initiative, stating: “This is all about humanity. I just wanted to reach out to our community and offer our services at this difficult time. I have been following Marcus Rashford’s campaign and was disappointed that MPs did not back the bill so decided to do something. We just want to become a bit of a beacon in the local area. This is an affluent area but there are always people around here who need to use school vouchers and we also have a lot of single parents around here.” Image Credit: Talking Retail ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 1.4/10 - Popularity: 9% | Activity: 23% | Freshness: 9% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: Europe ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Social Good](https://www.trendhunter.com/socialgood) > [Charity](https://www.trendhunter.com/charity) ## Key Themes ### Key Themes Behind This Trend - **Food Poverty Campaigns:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop innovative solutions to address food poverty and support vulnerable communities. - **Free School Meals:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Explore ways to provide free meals for school children during holiday periods through partnerships with convenience stores and other businesses. - **Community Engagement Initiatives:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create initiatives that encourage businesses to play an active role in supporting their local communities during challenging times. ### Where This Applies - **Retail:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Leverage convenience stores as distribution points for food donations and community support initiatives. - **Food and Beverage:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop new business models or partnerships to provide free meals for children in need outside of school settings. - **Non-profit and Social Services:** Disruptive innovation opportunity: Utilize technology and digital platforms to streamline food donation processes and connect those in need with available resources. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Supermarket Charity Partnerships](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/aldi-uk-and-neighbourly.md) - [Pop-Up Reverse Supermarkets](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/reverse-supermarket.md) - [Socially Supportive Retailer Promotions](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/wawa-buy-a-kids-meal-make-an-impact.md) - [Social Good Pastry Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/action-against-hunger-and-walls-pastry.md) - [Adult Breakfast Clubs](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/breakfast-club-for-adults.md) - [Health-Forward Charity Initiatives](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/innocent-drinks-and-coop.md) - [Meal Donation Food Products](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/fight-hunger-serve-hope-initiative.md) - [Children's Food-Insecurity Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/never-miss-a-lunch.md) - [Charity Christmas Foods](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/christmas-food-to-go.md)