Market Drayton Foodbank grateful for a ton of support
Market Drayton's foodbank has hailed the town's generous spirit after receiving a ton of food in just five days after it put out an appeal.
The surge came after a desperate appeal for food items that the bank had totally run out of, and the organisers said they were grateful for the 'unbelievable' response.
However, it still needs help after the number of people who use the foodbank doubled; and to provide holiday meals for children they are asking for more tinned goods.
Organisers said they also hope to organise a regular supply of bread, of which they get through 30 loaves a week.
Helen McSherry, manager of the foodbank, said: "Within a few days we had received a whole ton of food.
"The amount we had was unbelievable. The response after we made the appeal was fantastic. We want to thank everyone that came to support us at short notice.
"It shows that people really do care about their local communities. But there are still people in Market Drayton that don't know there's a foodbank in the town. It has been going for almost six years now."
Helen said that while in 2016 about 1,000 people used the services of the foodbank, that number rocketed to more than 2,000 in 2017, and 2018 is set to hit that mark again.
Grateful
"We also recently had a supermarket collection at the town's Morrisons which went very well", she said. "We got about 800kg from that and we are very grateful.
"We still need children's holiday meals, from things like tinned hot dogs, tinned meatballs and tinned mince. We update our website on a weekly basis, saying exactly what we need and what we are low on."
The foodbank's website lists the foods and items that are in demand, as well as when and where to get help when necessary. The opening times and locations of donation points can also be found at marketdrayton.foodbank.org.uk
The bank is based at the Parish Rooms on Church Street, and is open on Tuesdays between 10am and 11.30am, and on Fridays between 12.30pm and 2pm.
Last month the foodbank received a £683 grant from the People's Postcode Lottery to replace old furniture that has been in use since it opened in 2011.
The money went towards desks, shelving and drawer units, as well as electronic weighing scales and portable voucher processing equipment.
