Steph McGovern broke down in tears as she shared a letter from a single parent who was asking for advice on how to cook Christmas dinner for their family for less than £20 after losing their job during the pandemic.
On Thursday’s edition of Steph’s Packed Lunch on Channel 4, the host said: ‘We’ve all been enjoying the build up to Christmas and we’ve really got the spirit going in the studio, but we do know this time of year isn’t easy for everyone.
‘Recently we got a letter, I have to say it’s one of those letters that really does choke you up when you read it.
‘It’s from one of our viewers, thank you so much for sending it to us. I’m going to read some of it now, as it really sums up what a lot of people are facing at the moment.’
The letter was from a single parent of three children aged between four and nine, who had lost their job during the first coronavirus lockdown.
The viewer wrote: ‘I cannot begin to explain how difficult life is financially. I always manage to provide food and heating for the children, but most days I do not eat and I sit in the dark.’
Steph fought back tears as she told viewers: ‘I can’t. I find it so hard to read this because it’s such a powerful letter. It’s not about me though, so I’ll stop crying.’
The letter continued: ‘I find myself relying on foodbanks and the charity of family and friends but sometimes without them realising, as I have taken food from their bins which they have discarded as out of date.
‘I’m totally ashamed that I’ve fallen so far, thankfully, however, I’m not in debt yet…’
The viewer said they had been left feeling like ‘nothing’ and a ‘failure’ after using up all her savings during the seven moths she had been unemployed, with her and her children making their own Christmas decorations from tin foil and old toilet rolls.
With the studio in tears, Steph told the viewer: ‘For a start, you are not nothing. You are clearly an amazing mam. What you are doing is putting your kids first, so for that every credit to you.
‘And thank you for being brave and sending this letter to us. There are so many people out there who are struggling. You see it with the foodbanks, the fact that there have been so many job losses.’
Steph’s Packed Lunch airs weekdays at 12.30pm on Channel 4.
Credit: Original article published here.
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