People seek help for the first time as they tackle job loss, bereavement and poor mental health in West Sussex

Turning Tides is calling on the West Sussex community for donations to this year’s Harvest Appeal.

The charity is requesting monetary donations to enable them to buy essential items including food to support local people experiencing homelessness.

Harvest Festival is traditionally a time for giving, a time for thanks and for recognising and sharing with others.

Harvest is a vital period in the Turning Tides calendar; the charity relies heavily on donations from the season to feed the men and women who are hungry and have no home throughout the difficult autumn and winter months ahead.

In 2020, through the support of individuals, schools and churches across the county, over £20,000 was raised.

Financial donations given during Harvest meant the charity could buy vital fresh and healthy produce. The charity is aiming to reach this amount once again to provide the much needed support to the rapidly increasing number of people coming to its services as the long term economic reality of Covid starts to bite.

Many individuals are seeking help for the first time as they tackle job loss, bereavement and poor mental health. Another consequence of the pandemic has been increased food poverty ranging from being worried about where the next meal may come from to actually going hungry on a regular basis.

It's not too late to become a ‘Harvest Hero’ this year. Members of the community, faith groups and schools can become a Hero at Harvest by donating to the appeal.

• £10 – will fill a bag of wholesome lunchtime snacks for several people having to sleep rough.

• £50 – will provide a basket of basics for two people living in our accommodation for a week.

• £100 – will pack a trolley with essentials for two people every fortnight

Current 2021 Harvest Heroes include Offington Park Methodist Church and Durrington Community Church who have raised £190 between them. Our Lady of Sion School and Trinity Methodist Church in Storrington have also chosen to support Turning Tides this year.

A spokesperson for Trinity Church said: “It's difficult to know what to do as a small church but donating to Turning Tides means we are doing something to help.”

Ruth Poyner, Head of Fundraising comments: “Prolonged periods of homelessness can lead to malnutrition, anaemia and a host of other serious health issues. Buying fresh with funds kindly given by the community helps us care for the health and immunity of those who come to our Hubs - particularly for those who sleep rough. With your help we can meet the daily nutritional needs of the hundreds we support throughout West Sussex.”

Claire Halford Dale, Turning Tides’ Worthing Community Hub Manager sees the real impact of food poverty every day when she opens the Hub to people who have been forced to sleep rough: “The majority of people who come to our Hub arrive very hungry, and I don’t just mean the type of hunger where your stomach rumbles – more like the hunger where you feel exhausted, dizzy, nauseous and shake from lack of nutrition.

"All too often the meal we provide our clients will be the only one they have that day and they have no idea where the next meal is coming from. That is really scary – most of us take this for granted, we have snacks in the cupboard, the next meal bought and planned for. To not know when your basic physical needs might be met every day can make people feel extremely anxious and depressed.

"Supporting Turning Tides’ Harvest appeal ensures we can provide nutritious food for the growing numbers accessing our services. This generosity can also feed the soul as much as the body – the people we support realise their community cares and that they are not alone.”

Turning Tides’ Harvest Appeal video is available to watch at https://www.turning-tides.org.uk/harvest/ and can be used by schools and faith and community groups.