Thought for the Week - 17th July 2022

Dear Friends,

Last week I received an email from the Living Well Food Bank titled ‘Cost of Living Crisis Appeal’ letting me know that they had been successful in obtaining match funding from the National Emergencies Trust so that every £1 pledged is matched – doubling every donation (up to £250). The email says,

‘I am sure you are aware of the impact that the rise in cost of living has had on many in our community and nationwide, and the huge strain that this has put on foodbanks. In recent weeks we have seen an increase in the number of guests coming to our foodbank (handing out over 900 bags a month and a 30% increase from February 2022 – May 2022), with many feeling the impact of the increase in the cost of living and fuel, some having to make the choice between fuel and food. We have also had many Ukrainian families coming to us for help. A consequence of the current economic climate is that there has been a decrease in the number of food donations received and those supplied by the supermarkets. To continue to supply our guests with a balanced food bag, we are now making weekly supermarket purchases of essential items such as milk, tinned vegetables, and pulses. We also supply many more families with food support. The cost of buying this food has risen 107% in the last 3 months from £285 a week in April to £619 a week in June. As well as the foodbank, we continue to offer the weekly community lunch for over 150 people, a community café including an art café, advocacy support offering advice on housing, benefits and debt and counselling services. We would be very grateful if you would share our appeal so that we can make the most of the match funding in the next few weeks. At the moment every penny helps to keep our essential services open to those in need.’

The match funding is only open until 5th August and if you would like to contribute you can do so by going to this website https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/cost-of-living - Thank you!  

Grace and peace,

Neil

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