Two of our volunteers handing out shopping lists & dating food.
Generous Tesco customers have set the bar high in Cardiff by donating food for an incredible 20,814 meals during the eighth Neighbourhood Food Collection.
The collection took place between 30th June – 2nd July 2016, in partnership with Tesco and charity partners The Trussell Trust and Fareshare. For many people, emergency food is just the first step in helping them access other services and support which can help get their lives back on track, so the importance of a food donation in helping someone overcome a crisis cannot be underestimated.
In 2015-16, Cardiff Foodbank was able to provide 12,078 three day emergency food supplies to local people in crisis.
Cardiff Foodbank, part of The Trussell Trust Foodbank Network, collected donations at Tesco stores: Culverhouse Cross, St Mellons and Western Avenue. They were supported by a large team of volunteers and Tesco staff.
Catherine Williams Foodbank Manager, said:
“We want to say a massive thank you to everyone in Cardiff who took part in this summer’s Neighbourhood Food Collection. We saw some incredible donations from people in the community – One gentleman, in the St. Mellons store, handed me a carrier bag full of food. He told me he had used the foodbank previously and it had provided a glimmer of hope at a very difficult time and he wanted to give the food back for the next person to use. Whether you donated or volunteered in store this year, we want to say a sincere thank you because your generosity and support has a direct impact. It is only with the support of local people that the foodbank is able to continue giving vital help when someone is hit by something like illness, redundancy or an unexpected bill.”
During the collection, customers were asked to donate non-perishable food items such as long-life milk, tinned vegetables and tinned fish. Over 54 volunteers from the Cardiff Foodbank joined with Tesco staff in store to collect donations from kind-hearted customers. Tesco then topped up all donations by 20 per cent.
All our clients have been assessed as being in crisis by a relevant agency in the city. Once the assessment has taken place they are issued with a foodbank voucher, the client then takes the voucher to one of our centres and exchanges it for food. You can find out more details of how to get a voucher here.