Support for food bank

Support for food bank

27 April 2016

DOWNPATRICK’S Fountain food bank has received its biggest ever donation from shoppers at the town’s Asda store.

Days after it emerged that the use of food banks in Northern Ireland Ireland has hit an all time high, volunteers were overwhelmed by the public’s response to calls for people to continue to support the work of food banks in Downpatrick, Ballynahinch, Newcastle, Kilmore and Inch.

The Fountain food bank’s Shirley Lennon described the response from shoppers at the Asda store last Saturday as terrific and thanked all the staff for their support, especially community champion, Andrea McQuoid, for allowing regular collections to take place.

The Fountain food bank, which recently launched a new Facebook page, was launched just over a year ago and since then has distributed over 600 food parcels which have helped feed over 1,600 people in the Lecale area.

The food banks provide vital assistance to many people across the district on the breadline, struggling to make ends meet. Individuals and families are referred for help for a variety of reasons including cuts and delays in benefits, family illness or bereavement, pressure on home budgets and sudden 

emergencies. 

Those behind the district’s food banks say they continue to be “overwhelmed” by the generosity of people and organisations making donations to help those in need.

Shirley said if it wasn’t for the food banks, individuals and families would struggle and thanked local people for continuing to support the work they do. She said volunteers are amazed by the generosity of the people who support their work. 

“People from across the community provide food and financial donations to support our work and we simply cannot thank them enough,” added Shirley.

Next month, the Fountain food bank is organising a special event at Downpatrick Presbyterian Church Hall to provide an update on its work since its formal launch.

The May 26 event will provide an opportunity for people to learn more about the work of the food bank and how it has progressed over the past 12 months.