A thank you from Bridgnorth Food Bank

Bridgnorth Food Bank, run out of the Baptist Church in Bridgnorth each Monday, recently held a toy and Christmas food drive in order to support families over the Christmas period, and volunteers were impressed at the generosity of the public.

Liz Bird said: "Without our volunteers, the service workers and the generosity of the general public, we just could not function.

"Our volunteers and our support workers are awesome, and the donations from the general public have been incredible."

Liz added that even during lockdown when some donors could not get out and shop themselves, they still kept donating funds so the food bank volunteers could buy the necessaries. The make-up of the volunteer force also changed due to Covid-19, with younger people rolling up their sleeves to step in for vulnerable people who had to isolate.

As with other food banks across the region, both independently run or run under the auspices of a larger charity such as the Trussell Trust, there has been an increase in demand for their services in the run up to Christmas. On the Monday before Christmas Bridgnorth reported that their volunteers had helped some 22 families, two emergencies, 11 couples and 12 individuals.

Liz added: "We don't usually put fresh meat into our food parcels as we can't be sure when it was bought, but this week we had some people turn up with meat that they had just bought, so we were able to give Christmas dinners to people.

"We also had a whole range of presents donated, some wrapped and some not wrapped, for adults and children."

While the food bank runs throughout the year, the need for it at Christmas is usually higher than at any other time, and given stark warning about the rise in energy costs next year, demand seems likely to rise even more.

Liz added: "Some of the stories of the people we help are heartbreaking, and they don't just come for support with food. We can point them in the right direction for help with other issues too."