Food bank given £3,000 cash donation
A food bank based at two churches has been given a £3,000 cash donation from a family business.
Oldbury-based Richardson has helped Erdington Food Bank, which works out of the George Road Baptist Church and Six Ways Baptist Church in Erdington, Birmingham, and provides emergency food and support to people in crisis.
Since the coronavirus outbreak the food bank has seen the numbers of people needing their help rise significantly.
Numbers nearly trebled in a matter of weeks, as incomes have reduced and families have the added pressure of children not being fed through schools.
The food bank works closely with different community-based professionals who identify people in crisis and issue them with a food bank voucher. This means people can receive a food bank parcel of three days’ nutritionally balanced, non-perishable food.
Martyn Richardson, from the Richardson Brothers Foundation, said: “We recognise these are tough times and that food banks are providing emergency support for increasing numbers of people during this crisis.
“We are pleased that, through the foundation, we can donate £3000 to the Erdington food bank to help get food and other essential items to people who are in desperate need.
“We hope that the money will make a positive difference to the increasing numbers of people who need the support and will go some way to helping them through this difficult time.”
The first two weeks of the coronavirus lockdown triggered an unprecedented rise in food bank use as the economy was hit and household incomes plunged, data from hundreds of emergency food aid charities revealed.