THE Breakfast For Every Child appeal got off to a brisk start this week, with donations of food and money coming in thick and fast to the office of the Coalition for the Protection of Children (CPC).

The charity's Sheelagh Cooper said she was delighted with the initial response to the appeal, launched through the columns of this newspaper last week, to provide food for some of the island's poorest families.

But she added that the appeal was ongoing and that "food is going out of the door as quickly as it comes in".

"We've been flooded with phone calls from people who want to help by donating food," Ms Cooper said. "At least 25 people have come in with bags of groceries.

"Many others have also called, saying they would like to donate money. That is good because then we can use it to buy food wholesale."

Ms Cooper said news of the appeal launch had served to increase the demand for food.

"It has meant that we have had many more clients asking for food because this has reminded them that we do have that available," she said. "Food goes out the door as quickly as it comes in.

"We will be approaching local businesses for more help in a more systematic fashion going forward."

The CPC is in the frontline of the battle against poverty and in last week's edition Ms Cooper said the problem was getting progressively worse.

The charity received an average of five calls a week from families who had no food in the house, she said. Most of them had a wage coming in, but it was not sufficient to meet Bermuda's high cost of living and, in particular, its spiralling rents.

Some of these desperate people had applied to Financial Assistance for help, but had been turned away without help. The charity was saving them from going hungry.

She described how the staff of KPMG had donated a ton of food after she had given a talk to them on the charity's work. Most of that food has already been snapped up.

"The appeal will be ongoing because these people will continue to need food," Ms Cooper said yesterday.

"Their circumstances are not going to change in the near future, because the Government is not increasing the financial assistance being offered and their prospects of a job that earns them enough to pay the bills are not improving."

The CPC is seeking donations of non-perishable food or money to pay for food.

l Any person or company who wishes to donate food or money to the Breakfast For Every Child appeal can contact CPC on 295-1150, or take their donation to the CPC office at 38 Mount Hill (off Berkeley Road) in Pembroke.