Given the extent and urgency of the cost-of-living crisis, the Westminster Foundation pledged £1m to charities helping children and their families in 2022/2023. 

Created in addition to its usual grant-giving programme, the fund supported families, carers, refugees, those with special educational needs and disabilities, or low socio-economic status. 

Between autumn 2022 and summer 2023, donations supported almost 100,000 people in Westminster, Chester and Lancashire, with essential food support, for example, through fresh hampers and supermarket vouchers, and excursions that offered respite to young carers and low-income households through sports and arts activities. 

According to the Mayor’s Fund for London, around 700,000 children in London live in poverty after housing costs. As such, the Foundation partnered with Westminster City Council and the Young Westminster Foundation to provide essential funding for youth activities and meals during half-term school breaks, ensuring children and young people remained engaged and well-fed during the holidays. In response to concerns surrounding holiday hunger, families were offered several meal options from hot meals to nutritious snacks, food parcels for home preparation, and food vouchers that could be redeemed at established stores.