'It was hard a lot of the time' - Maya Jama on growing up with food uncertainty in Bristol
Watch Maya Jama talk about food poverty in the UK
At just 26 years old, Maya Jama has worked her way up to become a household name in the UK.
She has had a stint as a Radio One presenter, hosted hit BBC Three show Glow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star and presented the BRITs.
But things did not come easy for the star.
Maya grew up in Bristol and was raised by her mum and her aunties, with her father not around.
Her mum had to work multiple jobs just to put food on the table - and now Maya is backing a new campaign from Deliveroo to help families facing food uncertainty.
"Even though I didn't directly experience food poverty as such, it was hard a lot of the time," Maya told ITV News West Country.
Maya was born in St Pauls before moving to the Cotham and Redland area and says free school meals were a "massive, massive help" for her family while she was growing up.
"We'd go to the cheaper food shops and my mum would make sure we'd ate everything on our plate because you didn't know when you were going to get your next healthy meal," she said.
The Deliveroo campaign will see one million meals delivered to families in need.
The delivery firm will working with brands including Pret A Manger, Co-Op and Waitrose, Deliveroo to deliver the meals to the Felix Project, FareShare and The Pret Foundation - all of which work tirelessly to distribute food that would otherwise go to waste.
Maya said: "I think everybody’s struggled in different ways during the pandemic but if you’re not from a high-earning background and you’ve got your kids in the house every day, you’re trying to feed them daily, there’s no school… people weren’t working.
"I know a lot of people have lost jobs, lost houses, lost massive incomes and they’re struggling. So situations like this, they’re relying on foodbanks and charities to help them get through.
"It's sad that the healthiest foods are the most unavailable and also the hardest to get hold of and the most expensive. People aren't getting what they need, nutrients and stuff, especially young children which is what you need growing up."
Deliveroo CEO and founder Will Shu said: “We want to use our unique network for good and play our part in supporting the communities in which we work.
"We don’t just want to ride through our streets – we want to support them and play an active part within neighbourhoods across the UK.
"We are pleased to launch the ‘Full Life’ campaign, with a new commitment to deliver one million meals to communities in need. This is just the start, and together with our amazing network of riders, grocers and restaurants, we are so proud to be able to make a small difference.”
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