This Saturday sees the return of one of our Tesco collection days. The stores Tesco stores based in Witham and Marks Farm in Braintree are taking part and waiting to welcome you.
In a recent interview, Dave Drewitt who coordinates these collections, discusses why they are so important to the Foodbanks.
We have been collecting food in Tesco for what seems like years and I wonder how many times we have said those words ‘We are collecting food for the Foodback today, for those in need in the local area’ it must be thousands of times and as the leaflets are given out we know that the food will flow in because it always does.
The generosity of ordinary people is really heart warming just knowing that so many care and want to do something for the good of others. So much so that in our Nov/Dec 2018 supermarket collection we hit our greatest amount of food collected at 5.3 tonnes. Stocks are high at the moment especially with our Harvest collection and a huge donation from the Round Table not forgetting those who donate week after week but in mid summer it was another story our stocks were so low worry line were appearing on a few brows.
We must have close on 100 Volunteers who take part in our collections, made up not only from within the Foodbank but also from organisations and business’s that partner with us, all of us knowing we are doing just a little to help those who are finding life a challenge.
Sometimes the comments of those who have given food stay in mind, like the lady who said ‘I’ve been desperate for food in the past, for my family and used the Foodbank and although we’ve not got much I want to give something back’ and there it was a huge trolley load, she left with the words ‘We will have a little less this week’ it means so much to those who have experienced hard times to be able to give back and give back with great generosity and really that’s the spirit of the Foodbank. I would like to thank all our volunteers for all they do and we all would like to thank you for your kind donations and for making a difference in thousands of lives.
These donations are distributed throughout Braintree, Halstead, Witham and surrounding areas.