A RALLYING call has been issued for caring Worcester residents to dig deep and donate to the city’s Foodbank in the run-up to Christmas.
Staff at the Carden Close centre were left delighted after a record-breaking harvest saw the venue bursting at the seams with donations.
Donations from a staggering 25 schools, churches and businesses were received leaving volunteers with a sensational four tonnes of food to sort through.
The donations saw Worcester Foodbank smash its previous record of three tonnes of donations which was notched up last autumn.
The out-pouring of giving even forced volunteers to open the doors on extra warehouse space to house the burgeoning stockpile.
Among those who supported the harvest appeal were pupils, parents and staff at Cherry Orchard Primary School who collected over 500kg of food, while parishioners at St Stephen’s Church in Barbourne weighed in with almost 550kg.
And now, volunteers hope residents across the Faithful City will dig deep and support their annual Christmas appeal to spread some joys to families who may have hit hard times in the run up to the festive season.
Volunteers hope city residents will be inspired to provide emergency food parcels to bring some joy to desperate families who may otherwise go hungry.
They have already handed out 2,000 food parcels but Worcester Foodbank manager Grahame Lucas told the Observer foodbanks often see an increase in demand during the winter months.
“You’d expect me to say I am surprised by the response, but this is typical of the extraordinary generosity people in Worcester have shown us over the past three years,” he said.
“The day after we hired the extra storage space we also received an anonymous cash donation of £300 which will pay for the first three months of rent.
“It’s these amazing acts of kindness which sustain us,” he added.
Among the Christmas goodies being sought are crackers, chocolate, Advent calendars, small gifts for children and festive food such as tinned ham, puddings, cakes and biscuits.
Items can be left at foodbank collection points in Worcester supermarkets including Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury’s Local in Barbourne.
The Guildhall also has a drop off point or items can be left at Worcester Foodbank on Carden Close from 11am to 2pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
