Local community leaders in Neston, working collaboratively with Neston and District Churches Together, have become increasingly concerned with the lack of provision for those struggling in crisis situations in the Neston area. Currently, the nearest Foodbank for Neston residents is based in Ellesmere Port. The story of a pensioner walking to Ellesmere Port from Neston and back to get food for his family when they were in crisis touched and shocked us all.
Having assessed that Neston does need its own centre, we are working to establish a distribution centre here for our community. To keep the local community informed of progress and to provide further information we held a Foodbank Information Evening on Friday 29th November in the URC Church Hall.
We were delighted that almost 50 people attended despite the rather wet weather and the host of other activities going on in the community. The evening was hosted by Alec Spencer, the Development Officer for West Cheshire Foodbank who explained how and why West Cheshire Foodbank operates. We were also delighted to be supported by Rita Walsh and Mike Steenkamp from the Debt Advice Network who so ably highlighted the particular issues faced by those issuing Foodbank vouchers. Our massive thanks also to Sue Cox who shared her significant experience of volunteering with West Cheshire Foodbank and highlighted the reasons why so many more people are forced to rely on emergency food.
As Sue shared with us, we sincerely hope that the underlying causes of food poverty can be addressed and that West Cheshire Foodbank won’t be around for long. Unfortunately, present need is both severe and growing at an alarming rate. We are very grateful to all those who have supported this initiative in Neston and for the overwhelming support from the local community, many of whom have already pledged their assistance with collecting food and have generously given their money and time. Thank you all.
West Cheshire Foodbank now hopes to establish a venue in the near future and is looking for the Neston Foodbank Distribution Centre to be operational in the New Year.
Our sincere thanks to the author of this post:
Helen Jones, Secretary, Neston and District Churches Together.