A TRIO of local businesses have been praised for their goodwill after they teamed up to honour the dedicated volunteers of Worcester’s Foodbank.
More than 40 volunteers were treated to a special meal at The Fold in Bransford after head chef James Bridges answered a plea for help to rescue the foodbank’s annual Thank You dinner.
A funding shortfall had left the event in the balance until Mr Bridges swung into action.
He waived the hire of the venue, discounted the meal and enlisted the support of The Friday Beer Company, based in Malvern, and winemakers Sixteen Ridges to provide drinks for the evening.
Foodbank manager Grahame Lucas said: “This is the one opportunity we have every year to honour the huge contribution our volunteers make to thousands of lives, so we were desperate not to cancel it.”
“We are so grateful for the generosity of these local businesses. They seemed to be just as determined as us to make sure it went ahead.”
Head chef Mr Bridges said: “Good people doing good things is what we are all about. Volunteering is such important work, so as soon as we got the request we wanted to help.”
With demand for the city’s foodbank having soared by 35 per cent in the past year, many of the volunteers chose to donate the cost of their meal to the charity.
Foodbank currently feeds around 5,000 people living in crisis each year, with delays in receiving benefits, low incomes, debt and homelessness driving the increase in referrals.
