Food parcels will continue to be delivered to food banks across Wolverhampton up to Christmas
Emergency food parcels will continue to be delivered to food banks in need across Wolverhampton up to Christmas, council chiefs have announced.
Wolverhampton Council has been sending out the parcels weekly since the start of the pandemic to help those most in need amid a surge in demand.
And now chiefs have confirmed they will continue to supply food banks in the city up to Christmas – with 1,000 boxes of food a week delivered.
Councillor Ian Brookfield, leader of Wolverhampton Council, said: "Looking after our own and helping our most vulnerable citizens has been the mantra of the council throughout this crisis.
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"Whether that be the one million plus meals we delivered directly to people shielding at the height of the pandemic, or the weekly supplies of food we have continued to provide to food banks which do such amazing work to provide a lifeline to people in need.
"We have now decided to keep this support to food banks going for another three months because we know how much it is needed at a time when more people are losing their jobs because of the crisis and more people need help to put food on the table."
It will see The Well, Adventist Foodbank, Bilston People’s Centre and Excel Church, Stratton Street Park Village and the Elias Mattus Foundation benefit from the deliveries.
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The foundation in Penn Fields, set up by Councillor Asha Mattu and named after her late husband and former mayor Elias Mattu, delivers to almost 500 people each week.
She said: "A lot of people have no income coming in, they’ve lost their job because of the pandemic and are perhaps waiting six weeks for their Universal Credit to start – so they come to foodbanks like us because they’ve got nowhere else to turn.
"We have others who are shielding who don’t have family to ask to get their shopping and we help them as well.
"I get 200 boxes full of supplies delivered every week by the council, if it wasn’t for these weekly deliveries we would really be struggling to keep going. They are a lot of help."
Caroline Price, project leader from The Well food bank, added: "Over the past six months, The Well has delivered food and toiletry parcels to 2,300 households, supporting 5500 people.
"The weekly donation of the council food boxes have been a great support in this work, not only to us, but to other projects we have shared them with.
"Sadly, we are expecting referrals to rise in the coming months, so the continuation of this support is really appreciated."
