The last year has held many challenges for us all and the Meon Valley Food Bank is no exception. For months now the press and news have screamed “Cost of Living Crisis” and “Energy Crisis”. Almost weekly there has been another “bad news” story.
But what has all this really meant for us at the Meon Valley Food Bank? Over the weeks and months, we have continued to focus our attention on providing support to those who need our help. In practical terms we have seen more people being referred to us for help and we have continued to provide 7 days food for each family member.
We are extremely grateful to all of you who donate food. Food comes to us from many individuals but also from churches, schools and other organisations. It is always so encouraging to see the food donations left at places like Sainsbury’s Bishops Waltham and the Coops in Wickham and Bishops Waltham. Without you all we really would have struggled.
But food donations are not enough on their own, so we have for some time now been buying in extras from ASDA. Extras makes it sound like they are non-essential items but if you were to visit us on a Monday morning when the ASDA delivery arrives you would see we are purchasing many everyday essentials. This can range from UHT milk to tinned vegetables, tuna, rice pudding, cup a soup and so on. All things that go into our basic food package.
You may be wondering how we can afford to do this? Not only do we have amazing food donors but we also have individuals and organisations, like Parish Councils and local societies, who donate money. It is your generosity that enables us to buy those essential extras from ASDA and elsewhere.
So our needs are met through the generosity of the local community. Donations of food and cash are the things that keep us going. If you would like to support us by either a one-off or regular bank transfer please send us your contact details via the website and we’ll get back to you with our bank details.
Our heartfelt thanks for all you do for us so that we can continue to support those most in need.
The Trustees of the Meon Valley Food Bank