DEDICATED TO MAKING A POSITIVE IMPACT IN THE LIVES OF YOUNG PEOPLE
Welcome to Struggles 2 Smiles committed to addressing food insecurity, breaking down cultural barriers, while offering young people from disadvantaged/multicultural backgrounds the opportunity to training and job opportunities within outdoor catering industry and ensuring that everyone has access to nutritious affordable meals and offering a hot food bank to homeless individuals and families experiencing food insecurity within our local communities of South Wales. We believe in the power of food to bring joy and hope, and we are dedicated to making a positive impact in the lives of those we serve. Join us as we work together to nourish our community and create lasting change!
2023 in Numbers
Tonnes of Food Waste Saved from landfill
sustainable hot Healthy meals distributed into the community
Young people helped into paid training leading to employment
Fresh food hampers distributed into the community.
Voices of Impact
“My mum, who is 72, got the devastating news that she has terminal breast cancer and won’t have long with us. This charity has helped ease the pressure of worrying about how to feed us all and let me concentrate
on being with my mum and making memories with her. So from the bottom of my heart I thank each
and every one of you that has given
up your precious time during the
Covid lockdowns and own finances
to help us families during these difficult times.”
“Me and my family were completely overjoyed last night after receiving our Christmas day dinners and Christmas gifts for my children. I took a step back after looking at all the food and gifts and I couldn’t help but get a lump in the back of my throat and shed a tear. Thank you Jason, It means so much to me, I’ve always been very proud to be able to provide for my family and having to get help really hit me yesterday. I am eternally grateful to have had this opportunity. To have this Charity do this for my family and other families in need at this time of year is beautiful. I only hope we are in a better position in the near future to pay it forward ourselves.”
“Struggles to Smiles is a local charity that delivers food inclusivity projects and works in partnership with the Youth Justice Service to offer employment and training to individuals with a history of offending behavior. They have recently started working with the Supported Accommodation Team to provide food to complex needs clients at Ty Ephraim (formerly known as the HA Hotel), and, so far, this has been very well received. The team also works closely with the new dietitian from our Homeless Multidisciplinary Team to ensure that the meals provided are balanced, nutritious, and meet the needs of residents. The council is keen to use this partnership to offer volunteering and potentially paid employment opportunities to people with lived experience of homelessness services who are interested in a career in catering.”
“Something I wasn’t prepared for was how much of a rollercoaster of emotions these projects would be during the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ve felt anger that families are in a position to ask for help, guilt that we as a business can’t do more, embarrassed that we are in a position to help, sadness for all the families and individuals in need, joy in seeing the compassion offered by others, and frustration with ourselves for feeling all of this when, after all, I am leading a life of privilege and really can’t imagine what these families and individuals living in poverty must be dealing with every single day, which is obviously a billion times worse for them to talk or think about.”
