Whether you have a Christian faith or not, you may have decided to give something up for Lent. Self-denial is challenging – it helps us to understand ourselves, our relationship with ‘things’ and most importantly to grow spiritually. 

For most of us, what we do or don’t do is highly personal. We don’t really have any sense of being ‘in this together’.

Yet this year, tens of thousands of people across the country took part in the End Hunger Fast campaign. They undertook to fast together for at least one day to raise awareness for those in our country who have no choice about whether to eat.

Over half a million people are now dependent upon foodbanks. The reasons are complex and may be because of delays or changes to the payment of benefits.

Increasingly, those in lower paid work are also struggling to make ends meet, and sometimes have to call on the support of the foodbank.

Across Lancashire we have more than 25 foodbanks, all supported by our communities and all working to make sure that those who need support get it. As ever, the foodbanks really need our support – donations of time, food and money – to make sure that no-one in any of our communities goes hungry.

At the same time as dealing with hunger, we are also faced with an enormous amount of food waste – one source gave a figure of 4.3 million tonnes every year.

Waste food is something we can all try do something about. Maybe you might fancy joining a group of gleaners (organised groups who are invited by farmers to harvest otherwise wasted crops). For most of us though, we can plan to buy only what we can eat!

So as Lent is over, and we go back to chocolate or whatever takes our fancy, let’s not forget how we can continue to make a difference – to those who need us to care about them, and how we influence good stewardship of our resources.

Gillian Beeley Together Lancashire Development Co-ordinator (East Lancashire)