posted on 05 Jul 2021

The Great (Food) Bank Heist by Onjali Q. Rauf

In the fifth or sixth richest country of the world (just exactly which of these positions the UK occupies is a matter of debate) over 4 million children live in poverty. Two and a half million of these children are living in households that are classed as ‘food insecure’.

These are bleak statistics and there may be some people who would argue that this isn’t the stuff of children’s story books – that children want to escape from this kind of reality and should not be encouraged to confront it. But in truth poverty can touch the lives of many more than this 4 million: families move in and out of poverty and circumstances can change abruptly. Coming to terms with the reality of food poverty is, in my view, something children can not only deal with but will actually want to see represented in the books they read – as long as this difficult reality isn’t all they get and some escapist fun is available too.

If you can blend these things together, all the better. And, that’s pretty much what Onjali Rauf tries to do here with The Great Food Bank Heist, a story that doesn’t shy away from the real problems of low income families but also provides some humour and adventure at the same time.

Nelson, his sister Ashley and their hard working mom rely on their regular trips to the food bank because mom’s wages simply don’t stretch far enough to pay the extortionate rent and put food on the table for the whole week. Nelson and Ashley spend much of their time outside school dreaming of the days when they will have their perfect food wish-list and the trips to the food bank are part of their routine. But one day there’s a rumour in the school Breakfast Club that the food bank is running short of supplies because someone has been stealing the donations.

When it turns out that the rumour is true Nelson is furious and along with his school pals, Krish and Harriet, he decides he’s going to do something about catching the thief. When the three friends and Ashley turn detective and go on a stakeout, they soon discover what’s been going on.

The book, which is from the Barrington Stoke ‘super readable’ series for reluctant readers, has been endorsed by The Trussell Trust (one of the country’s main organiser of food banks) and by the Greggs Foundation Breakfast Club Programme, and a percentage of the royalties will be going to those organisations. There are also some great illustrations by Elisa Paganelli which give the book an extra dimension and bring the cast to life for the reader.

Published in July, you should be able to order a copy of this book from your local independent book shop but if that’s a problem you could order it directly from the Barrington Stoke website.

 

Terry Potter

July 2021