Community Link Foundation
THE Community Link Foundation was delighted to support a cause right at the heart of the community.
Southport Foodbank, based at the Lakeside Christian Centre, had outgrown its premises because of high demand for the service.
Staff were in desperate need of extra storage space for all the food that is donated to them, and somewhere for the volunteers to parcel it up ready for collection by the 400 clients that they have during a month.
They applied for a grant from Community Link Foundation to add an extra unit to their existing site, and the board members were delighted to approve it.
The base at Lakeside is where all the food that is donated by local people and businesses is stored and packed into parcels before being collected or sent to the six other collection points around Southport and Formby.
Anyone using the foodbank has to have been assessed and given a voucher by a third party such as a social worker, a doctor or a school welfare officer or an agency such as the Citizens Advice Bureau.
The foodbank is only meant to be a temporary solution for people; to help them while they wait for benefits to come through, or to enable them to use the money that they would use for food, to clear debt.
John Sullivan, manager of Southport Foodbank, said: “We have seen an increase in the number of families coming to us and a lot more people are coming to us because of the changes to the benefit system.
“The warehouse has given us more storage to help more families and to be able to see what we’ve got. The volunteers who sort it all out are so, so grateful.
“People need to know not to be fearful, they need to come and have a chat with us and see how we can help them. People sometimes can’t see there is a way out but we can give them hope.
“We can’t solve their problems but we can help them on the road to recovery. We’re not here to judge, we’re here to listen, understand and get them the right help – that’s what the foodbank is for.
“The money from Community Link has made a massive impact for us and we would have struggled without it. There would have come a time when if we couldn’t get a warehouse, we’d have had to reduce how many clients we have and how much food we take in.
Enda Rylands, chairman of Community Link Foundation, said: “We already knew of the tremendous work of Southport Foodbank but when we found out about the situation with the space, we knew that we had to help so that they could continue to provide the much needed service.
“We wouldn’t have been able to approve the grant without there being money available to us from fundraising events that people have held for us, and we are very grateful to have been in a position to help.
The foodbank does an amazing job and we were delighted we could help them.”
For more information about Community Link Foundation, go to www.clfoundation.co.uk.