Plan unveiled for town Foodbank
STRUGGLING families who cannot put food on the table may soon be given a lifeline as a Foodbank scheme found in towns across the country could be coming to Grantham.
Churches Together is considering the scheme which, if given the go-ahead, will see three-day food supplies donated to families going hungry. Each box will provide 10 balanced meals.
Brian Hanbury, an outreach worker for Harrowby Lane Methodist Church, is leading the scheme and working to get the backing of churches and agencies. He believes the scheme is needed in Grantham.
He said: “I work with Grantham’s Poverty Concern and we are seeing a totally different dichotomy of people coming through the door.
“I also used to work with Job Centre Plus and recognise a big shortfall between people’s income and benefits after they’ve had a hardship or something drastic happens. There’s a period of time where very little income is coming in and people have to make a choice between putting food on the table and putting gas or electric into the meter.
“We would be there to help people through those hardships.”
Poor families whose poverty could be a result of bereavement, debt or illness will be nominated by health or social care professionals.
The aim is to enlist the help of better-off families who would be asked to donate a food item off the Foodbank list on a bi-monthly basis.
There are wider aims of the scheme to benefit the whole town, said Mr Hanbury.
“People are forced into a situation of making wrong choices just because they can’t put a decent meal on their table,” he said.
“We hope the scheme will reduce thefts.”
Another community benefit might come in the form of voluntary work, as recipients will be asked to repay the kindness.
Mr Hanbury hopes to get the nod from Churches Together to take up the scheme in the coming weeks.
The Foodbank will be run as a franchise under founding charity the Trussell Trust, and funds would need to be raised to cover the £2,000 start-up costs.
l Is the Foodbank scheme needed in Grantham? E-mail your thoughts to comment@granthamjournal.co.uk
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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