Fauld team lends helping hand at local food bank
Renew Church Food Bank in Uttoxeter has received a £500 donation and volunteer support from its local British Gypsum site to help local families during the winter.
With the cost-of-living crisis and rise in energy bills increasing the demand for food banks, the donation has allowed the charity to stock up on vital supplies for the winter period.
Renew Church Food Bank provides hundreds of people living in and around Uttoxeter with food and toiletries each year. Towards the end of 2022, the food bank noticed a dramatic surge in demand for its services, and predicted this would continue well into the future.
Donations for the food bank are collected from supermarkets, schools and businesses, with the majority provided by charitable organisations FairShare and Neighbourly. These schemes provide a link to the local Tesco, Asda and Lidl stores, allowing shoppers to drop non-perishable items into in-store trolleys for the food bank to collect.
The team of volunteers at Renew Church then stocks the items and packages them into parcels that are either collected or delivered to homes within the local area twice a week.
The food bank has also recently opened a warm café within the church on Uttoxeter’s high street. Open every Monday from 11 am – 2 pm, it offers a free hot drink and something to eat for people receiving food parcels.
As well as making a donation, the team at British Gypsum’s Fauld site spent a day volunteering with the food bank. They collected donations from local supermarkets, helped deliver parcels to people’s homes, and spent time at the food bank to see how volunteers process donated food.
Fiona Taylor at Renew Church said: “The donation has allowed us to stock up on items that we don’t get much of in the donation trolleys at the supermarkets, such as tinned meat pies, tinned potatoes, and carrots. We've also put some of the donations to one side to help towards our Christmas food shop for people.
“Our clients appreciate the quality and generosity of our food parcels, and donations like these help us continue to provide quality food parcels. For many, especially in the season we’re entering into, a food parcel helps them focus on other essentials, like electricity and other items for their children.
“We wouldn't be able to run the food bank without our volunteers or without the great support we get from the Uttoxeter community and we are so grateful for this donation from British Gypsum.”
At British Gypsum, we strive to be a good neighbour to the communities around each of our sites, and we support local projects that make a lasting positive impact. Find out more about our Building Better Communities programme and apply for support here.