Christmas message from Ledbury Food Bank

For those of us fortunate enough to be able to sit down with family and friends for a hearty meal on Christmas Day it is a happy and enjoyable time of year. But for many it is a difficult and depressing time of year as they struggle with the cost of living and are unable to provide their family, particularly their children, with the sort of Christmas that they would like to have.

This is the reality for many families in Ledbury and the surrounding villages this year. Ledbury Food Bank has supported over 300 households in 2023, including in excess of 120 who have come to us for the first time this year.

December is always our busiest month as the reality of what the festive period is going to be like hits home. We are able to provide a basic food parcel which always includes fresh fruit and vegetables and this helps people to manage their limited finances. In addition, and thanks to the generosity of both individual donors and local companies, we are also able to provide some small luxury items such as selection boxes for children. These simple gifts are always well received and, we hope, help to make Christmas just a little bit better for the 400 children in the families who we help.

Ledbury Food Bank and those who we support are enormously grateful for the continuing support we receive from the people of Ledbury and beyond, in the form of donations of food at one of our collection points in the town, and in the form of financial donations. We would like to thank you all.

Finally, a huge thank you goes to all of our volunteers, more than 80, who help to keep the food bank going in many different ways. We are very proud that we are run entirely by volunteers which is a huge achievement given the increase in demand we have experienced over the last few years.

The food bank in Ledbury is now ten years old. It would be nice to think that we would not be needed ten years’ time, but for the moment please think about us and help those in our community who continue to rely on us at this festive time of the year.