Bridgnorth food bank hoping for financial boost

Volunteers at the West Castle Street centre have set up a contract with a wholesaler to buy in items such as egg, butter and cheese, fresh fruit and vegetables in contrast to the normal items they pick up from supermarkets left over at the end of the day.

Over Christmas they helped 25 families in one day as well as food, donated toys and gifts to help them enjoy the festive season. But like food banks across the county they have seen 'unprecedented' demand for their services in 2022 and are hoping now the lock down has eased they can raise money once more through charity events.

The Shropshire Star reported yesterday how food banks across the county are expecting their record figures to increase further, with the rise in National Insurance thresholds prompting fears the worst of the crisis is still yet to come.

Phil Webster, a fundraiser and spokesperson for the Bridgnorth food bank which has been running for eight years, said the pandemic had seriously affected their ability to fund raise for the organisation and that donations were down as events were cancelled and people couldn't get out and about.

He said: "Luckily we did have reserves and in the five months up to Christmas we spent around £8,000 on items sich as cheese, eggs, fruit and milk - the items not usually associated with or donated by the supermarkets we work with because of the sell by dates but items which are important in terms of diet. We felt people who use the service shouldn't miss out on these things so set up an account with a cash and carry to purchase them at cost.

"People have still been generous, we re-instigated the CAB service at Bridgnorth Library as Shropshire Council seem to concentrate it on Shrewsbury now. That costs £2,000 a month in resources for someone to come in on a Monday and we have a generous donor currently providing that.

"Sainsbury's head office as well gave us a grant of nearly £5,000 from their charitable arm. We already work with them and other major supermarkets to collect items they don't need so that was a real boost.

"But we are hoping the donations will be up this year as people do more and go out more - I would encourage people for example to think about us when doing the Bridgnorth Walk for example. It doesn't have to be that you do the full amount, I heard of one person who had raised £70 amongst friends and family just by doing three miles.

"We have enough money in the bank to provide the service as it is now until Christmas but that won't last forever. We are seeing between 40 and 50 people coming to us every week but we are expecting that to increase as the financial implications of the spring statement hit and the important thing is to maintain the service for as many people as possible and not to have to downgrade it."