Cost-of-Living Crisis - Winter 2023

Aim

As the Cost-of-Living Crisis goes on - we're preparing to feed as many people in our 120sq mile - as possible.

My name is Gerrie, and I lead an awesome team of volunteers, who since March 2020 have dedicated thousands of hours providing support, advice and food parcels for the most vulnerable members of our community.

As we head towards, a predicted long winter, people all over the country are bracing themselves for another period of uncertainty and tough decision making. Eating vs heating – shouldn’t be a battle. Both should be affordable – but for many – they’re not.

Independent charities rely on their volunteer teams to apply for grant funding and pots of money – throughout the year – but they are getting fewer and further between and much harder to get.

We have a solid base of loyal supporters and local mainly but also some second / holiday homeowners who make regular standing order payments to support our work but the number of people needing help rises, the cost of food continues to rise, and cheaper fuel doesn’t seem to be affecting the pockets of those who need it most. Donated money enables us to purchase food to complete the food parcels and make sure that we give everyone a varied and healthy diet. We can make bulk purchases from Morrisons Wholesale – which is delivered right to the door – and cheaper than the shelf prices locally.

We run a five day-a-week operation, currently delivering approximately 150 food parcels every week. All the labour is provided by volunteers, packers, drivers, admin support – all generously donated by a team of over a hundred people.

The charity is run by ten (also volunteer) trustees who individually bring a wealth of knowledge and experience and make the cogs go round. Whilst I write this request as the appointed leader of “the team” there is no way this huge operation could ever be run by one, two or ten people! It takes every one of our volunteers, in their chosen spots, to make these cogs spin – well!

On behalf of our clients, volunteers and trustees I’m asking you to donate whatever you can to help us continue providing this vital service and see us through into the new year and beyond. If we could raise enough – it would enable us to make sure that people do not have to choose whether to eat or heat and they’d be able to cook something warm to eat every day.

This project successfully funded on 7th November 2023