A new documentary highlighting food bank use among young people has been produced by teenagers in the Lancaster district.
Food For Thought was instigated and created by young people at Lancashire Youth Challenge (LYC), a Lancaster-based charity which supports young people to build confidence and resilience by taking part in physical, creative and cultural activities and outdoor expeditions.
In 2018, two of LYC’s participants, who were living in temporary supported accommodation in Lancaster, shared their feelings of embarrassment and stigma about having to use food banks on a regular basis.
“The young people commented as to how these feelings of shame and embarrassment were negatively affecting their mental health and sense of worth,” said LYC chief executive, Guy Christiansen.
Other young people involved with LYC wanted to raise awareness of the issue and thanks to funding from the iWill Youth Social Action Fund, LYC commissioned a professional writer and film-maker to help them produce a film.
Among the skills they learned were writing a script, producing storyboards, operating cameras and sound equipment, interviewing people and editing film.
The group then interviewed users, volunteers and managers at food banks in Lancaster, Morecambe and also in Liverpool which has a food bank specifically for people aged 16-25.
One of those involved, Jo Prescott from Lancaster, so enjoyed the process that she took a film-making course at Kendal College and will be going to study for a degree in media production at Cardiff University later this year.
The film, together with a behind the scenes documentary, was premiered earlier this month at an event at More Music in Morecambe where local young artists, poets, singers and rappers performed.
The event also prompted a debate following a presentation by Dr Cassie Earl, a Lancaster University lecturer in education and social justice who spoke about the reasons for the rise in food banks across the UK.
The films are now available to view on LYC’s website and LYC would be happy for them to be used by any youth and charitable organisations