Coventry Foodbank helps 50,000th family in need

[dutchman]

Coventry Foodbank has delivered its 50,000th food parcel to a family in need.



The charity reached the staggering landmark this week and bosses have thanked the people of Coventry for all they have given since the foodbank opened nearly four years ago.

Having started out with just a single distribution point, the project has gone from strength to strength and recently opened its 17th centre in Stoke Heath.

They currently hand out up to two tonnes of food each week to families who are struggling to put a decent meal on the table whether due to money problems or other factors in their lives.

Project manager Hugh McNeill said: “It is an incredible achievement to have helped 50,000 families having only opened in January 2011.

“We are one of the largest foodbanks in the UK now, having started from a single distribution point, and we now have 17 centres in every area of deprivation in the city.

“Last year we collected 140 tonnes of food in Coventry and gave out 139 tonnes, and 95 per cent of that comes from the people of Coventry who are just amazing. We couldn’t do this without their generosity.

“It also comes from supermarket collections, churches, charities and businesses who collect on our behalf.

“The levels of poverty in the city have surprised me and it is great when you are able to help people and you see their lives being turned around - it is fantastic.”

The city foodbank, which is set to launch its very own advice service alongside Citizen’s Advice in December, works with 320 agencies in Coventry who direct families in need to the project.

And although donations are currently going through the usual upsurge in the lead-up to Christmas, Mitch Brookes, Coventry foodbank’s warehouse manager, is urging people to continue to give throughout the year.

He said: “The first three or four months of the year are always quiet and people do tend to give more around Christmas, so we have to try and build that stock up.

“When we see people’s generosity it is staggering - sometimes during the national collections you see people filling whole trolleys with food for us.

“To see that people actually care that much about each other is amazing.”

Coventry Foodbank will be taking part in a national supermarket collection from Thursday November 27 which is supported by Tesco stores across the city.

For more information visit http://coventrycentral.foodbank.org.uk/

*Barratt Homes is asking people to visit its St Michael’s Grange development in Brindle Avenue, Copsewood, to donate what they can to the foodbank.

The sales centre is open Thursday to Monday from 10am to 5pm and will accept non-perishable items such as rice, pasta, sauces and tinned vegetables, soup and fish, biscuits and cereals.

[rebbonk]

I admire the work that is being done, but consider the fact that it is needed a national scandal in this day and age.

[dutchman]

Foodbank collections at Coventry's four Tesco supermarkets

Coventry Foodbank is joining forces with Tesco to help feed those most in need over Christmas.

The supermarket giant’s National Collection will see shoppers at the city’s four stores - Crosspoint, Cannon Park, Clifford Bridge Road and Ricoh Arena - asked to donate items on December 3, 4 and 5.

All the food collected will help make up packages which Coventry Foodbank will to families who struggle to put food on the table through the winter weeks.

Hugh McNeill, manager of Coventry Foodbank, said: “The current economic climate means more and more people are struggling to put food on the table and we really need local people to give what they can.

“Rising prices, static incomes and high unemployment are having a real impact on people on the breadline and we’re seeing more people turning to the foodbank for help.

“We want to make sure that no-one in Coventry is forced to go hungry but to do this we’re urgently asking for help.”

Visit http://www.coventrycentral.foodbank.org.uk

[dutchman]

I admire the work that is being done, but consider the fact that it is needed a national scandal in this day and age.

I suspect there'll be an even bigger need when the so-called 'Universal Credit' is rolled-out in Coventry this month since the government has proved itself totally incapable of sending payments on time.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015 ... vice-study

[rebbonk]

I think you're likely to be right. - Sadly!

[dutchman]

Coventry people rely on foodbank more than anywhere else across West Midlands

More people have used the foodbank in Coventry than anywhere else across the West Midlands this year.

Emergency food charity the Trussell Trust said its Coventry Central foodbank had the highest daily average number of visitors out of all of its West Midlands sites.

Coventry Central foodbank saw the equivalent of more than 39 people every day in the first six months of the 2015-16 financial year.

A total of 7,130 people used the service at Moasic Church, Hillfields, between April and September this year.

The figure for three-day emergency food supplies includes 2,871 children and 4,259 adults.

Up-and-coming actor Reece Dry, who himself turned to a Coventry foodbank in his own time of need, spoke of the hardship families face.

The 23-year-old, who recently got his Hollywood buddies to back a foodbank collection day in the city, said: “It is poverty out there, it is a hard situation.

“The national minimum wage is such if you’ve got a large family, and once the bills have gone out, there’s not a lot of money left.

“Without the foodbank it would be very hard for people, I’m not too sure what they would do.”

Food can be donated directly to Coventry Central foodbank’s head office at the Hope Centre, Vauxhall Street, Hilldfields, during normal working hours.

The charity is generally always in need of UHT milk, tinned fish and tinned fruit.

[rebbonk]

Coventry people rely on foodbank more than anywhere else...

Government spin on this would be that Coventry is full of scroungers rather than face the truth!

[dutchman]

There were hidden welfare cuts in Osborne's latest budget which will make the situation even worse. The media is so obsessed with tax credits for the middle classes that it totally ignored them.

[dutchman]

Emergency food parcels available at Coventry's fire stations on Christmas Day and Boxing Day

Firefighters in Coventry have come to the rescue once again - this time helping out families in need over Christmas.

Each of the city’s four stations will house emergency food parcels while Coventry Foodbank is closed on December 25 and 26.

Any families in dire need over the festive period will be able to visit the stations in the city centre, Foleshill, Canley and Binley.

All local foodbanks are closing on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Hugh McNeill, project manager for Coventry Foodbank, said: “We would like to thank the West Midlands Fire Service for getting involved this year and allowing us to put food parcels into their stations over the Christmas period.

“It’s a fantastic idea and the fire stations are opened and manned with staff all over Christmas. So if people have an emergency over the festive period they will still be able to access food.”

Crew commander David Allen, from Foleshill fire station, said: “As we are here 24/7 it is the ideal situation for us to help out.

“We’ll carry food parcels probably right through until the new year.”

For further details, click here.