Weighing in with a helping hand
Officers and staff from Forth Valley Police Division have donated almost three-quarters of a tonne of items to the region’s foodbanks this festive season.
The Police Festive Foodbank Charity Collection began in early November, with police officers and police staff donating non-perishable foods, household items, cosmetic items and children’s selection boxes, sweets, boxes of biscuits and mince pies .
Three charities were selected to benefit: Start–up Stirling, The Gate, in Alloa, and Falkirk Foodbank.
Over 170 kilograms of items were handed over to Start-up Stirling.
Organiser PC David Carrick, of Stirling Community team, said: “At this time of year Christmas is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. For many people who are fortunate enough, Christmas will be a time of gifts, expensive food, spending time with family and friends and overindulging.
“Unfortunately not everyone is as fortunate, and many people see Christmas as a time of hardship, deprivation and poverty who are struggling to make ends meet at this time of year, and for this reason, I saw this as a perfect opportunity for us, the police, to give something back to the community.
“I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all the police officers and staff of Forth Valley Division who have kindly donated over the last month, to the local businesses who have supported our charitable collections and to my colleagues within Forth Valley Division who volunteered from the outset to assist me in this venture and making it the success it has been.
“Everyone in Forth Valley this Christmas will be afforded the opportunity of a meal.”
Start-up Stirling operations manager Ian Morris is a retired police officer and has welcomed the generous donation.
He said: “It’s fabulous that the police have time to think about us and the people that we support at this time of year. It’s an incredible gesture.“
Start-up Stirling provides a mobile foodbank service throughout Stirlingshire to those who cannot get to a foodbank for either financial, physical or mental health reasons.
It provides food packs containing the staples – dried and tinned foods – to feed an individual or family for three to four days.
The charity will continue to accept donations until mid-afternoon on Christmas Eve. It will re-open on December 27. It closes again midafternoon on Hogmanay and re-opens on January 3.