Baker Labels Donates to Brentwood Foodbank

Baker Labels has delivered a further donation of food and groceries to Brentwood Foodbank worth £750

 

Following the £500 donation made to the Brentwood charity earlier in the year, staff members from Bakers made a trip to the area warehouse with crates of food and household essentials to help restock the supplies that help local families facing the most difficult of times.

Retired husband and wife Bonnie and Gerry along with an organised team of volunteers run a tight ship at the warehouse and following the guidelines set by The Trussel Trust, must weigh and record every item donated before storing it in clearly labelled containers stacked floor to ceiling. Goods are rotated to ensure they’re sent out before their best before dates and nothing is wasted. Stock is then taken from the warehouse to the Brentwood foodbanks at Doddinghurst Road Community Church and the Breakthru Church in Hutton where anyone with a voucher can collect several days worth of food.

We contacted the Brentwood Foodbank before we visited to enquire what was in low supply so we could help them restock. Tinned meats, pies, instant mash and cleaning products were among the essentials we provided, along with dozens of chocolate advent calendars. We plan to make a further donation in mid December to help further.

Bonnie has seen an increase in the need for the foodbank this year with the main reason that people are finding themselves in dire situations being Universal Credit and the 5 week wait before it is given to those that need it. Many families are destitute, with no income at all to live on after their rent is paid. A recently published State of Hunger Report commissioned by The Trussel Trust found that “over 94% of people at food banks are destitute, while three-quarters live in households affected by ill-health or disability.”

The report identified three reasons: issues with the benefits system, ill health and challenging life experiences, and a lack of local support. It also found that two-thirds of people at food banks were affected by problems with benefits in the last year.

Volunteers at Foodbanks are often meeting people at their lowest point, never imagining that they would have to ask for parcels to feed their families and as Christmas approaches the challenges just increase and the demand will grow.

Supporting the Brentwood Foodbank with large donations of food and essentials feels like the right thing to do. We’re in a position to help so it’s important to do so. Each time we do it, different staff members make the trip so everyone gets an an opportunity to see and hear about the difference it makes and they come back feeling good that the company they work for is helping people and making a positive difference. Mandy Baker, Chief Happiness Officer at Baker Labels