In 2019 Causeway Foodbank distributed 15,453 emergency meals to 1,717 people. We also gave away nearly 200 Christmas hampers.
Covid-19 is impacting Causeway Foodbank:
We are sadly seeing increased demand and only expect this to get higher. We saw an 81% increase in people coming to receive emergency food during the first week of the “lock down”. In this same period we distributed 1,831.2kg of food and only had 821.11kg donated. We distributed a month's worth of food in a week. Our stocks are running low at a difference of one tonne a week … if that rate continues we will be completely empty in less than a month.We need to pick up donations from collection points and we want to be able to deliver food to the doorstep for people experiencing poverty who are self-isolating at home and in need of support from a food bank. This is not a service we usually offer, so we need volunteer drivers and assistants to make this possible. A number of our regular volunteers are from at risk groups so unable to work currently.
The reasons for this dramatic increase:
- Zero hours contracts are becoming just that: zero hours. This means a sudden loss of what was already a low income.
- Many businesses are already making redundancies in the face of a loss in trade, leaving families without an income.
- Non-existent or very small savings pots provide nothing to fall back on in a prolonged period without income.
- Tight budgets mean an inability to buy more than what is essential each week. Those empty supermarket shelves are a serious problem when you don’t have a freezer full of food to survive on.
Our community is helping:
- TK Maxx has donated all food items to Foodbank! Chocolate, confectionery, cooking oils, pasta, Easter eggs, etc.
- Costa Coffee donated all their food as they had to close.
- The local Rotary Club has committed to donate financially weekly towards Causeway foodbank!
- Emergency food parcels have been given to the Police, St Vincent de Paul and Social Work teams.
- but this is only the start.
We urgently need your help to fund the purchase of the food and household essentials to fill the gap.
How you can help
If you can donate food then please donate at one of these locations: https://causeway.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-food/
If you cannot get to these locations then please give to this Crowdfunder project that will allow us to purchase the food and household essentials that our community so desperately needs.
Thank you so much for all your support at this time of need. Our shelves are currently reasonably full, but for how long?
More about Causeway Foodbank
Our foodbank is a project to eliminate hunger in our local area and started in 2013. Our guests and volunteers come from all faiths, and none. Our donations come from churches, supermarkets, local organisations, schools, businesses and individuals.