Posts in '2012'

The Trussell Trust is delighted to have won a prestigious Charity Times ‘Charity of the Year’ award and we would like to say a huge thank you to all our supporters – it’s you who make what we do possible.

The judges were impressed by the way that the foodbank network ‘showed fantastic growth and huge success in a wide range of disparate communities’. The award is testament to the incredible efforts of foodbanks across the UK to address the problem of food poverty.

The Trussell Trust has joined a nationwide ‘Choose Charity Shops’ campaign to encourage more people to give good quality donations to charity shops. MP John Glen kickstarted our local appeal for clothes, bags and shoes last Friday and we’re urging as many people as possible to follow in his footsteps. Thanks to a very successful first couple of weeks at our new Salisbury shop we desperately need more good quality items, so why not have a clear out and bring a few things to The Trussell Trust?

Donate clothes.

Thank you!

Our brand new charity shop in Salisbury city centre has just opened its doors to a very excited public. The shop, which sells good quality clothes, bags, shoes and crockery, aims to generate funds to help The Trussell Trust reach more people in crisis. After much hard work from our Salisbury team, the new shop on Salisbury High Street is looking amazing (if we do say so ourselves), why not go and check it out? Find us at 50 High Street Salisbury, opposite the India Shop.

Also, we need more good quality clothing donations to keep the shop stocked and more volunteers too, could you help? Please bring any donations to 50 High Street Salisbury or Restore Bemerton, St. Michael’s Community Centre, St. Michael’s Rd, Salisbury SP2 9LE. Thank you!

Of 2000 mothers surveyed by Netmums recently, 1 in 5 regularly go without meals to feed their children, 16% are being treated for stress-related illnesses and one third are borrowing money from friends and family to stay afloat. Most mothers stated that their situation is worse than a year ago with less money coming in.    

Foodbanks meet mums in desperate situations every week. This week foodbank mum Donna was almost in tears as she told me that she couldn’t afford birthday presents to give to her twins who will be 13 on Sunday. She said that her sons had asked to have a friend come to stay to celebrate their birthday but she hasn’t said yes because she’s not sure they can afford the extra food. Donna used to work in a school for children with Aspergers and Autism but is currently off work due to depression – which has been exacerbated by the family’s financial worries. Her partner was recently made redundant and they are currently living on £38 per week due to mistakes with their benefits. This is the reality behind the statistics. Donna says she will be ‘eternally grateful’ for their foodbox. Without it she says she would have gone without food and had to try to scrape together enough money to give the children something, even just bread and butter. The family are keen to get back into work, that’s the hope that keeps them going.

Trussell Trust Executive Chairman Chris Mould was invited to David Cameron’s Easter Celebration at 10 Downing Street recently in recognition of the important work that foodbanks are doing across the UK.

Chris says: ‘The Prime Minister’s acknowledgement of foodbanks is testament to the incredible work of all those across the UK who have stepped up and launched foodbanks in their towns to stop people going hungry. It’s a big well done to everyone involved.

On Monday 19th December Newtownards Foodbank, our first foodbank in Northern Ireland opened its doors to the public just in time for Christmas. The Newtownards foodbank team were so determined to open before Christmas that they took just two months to get the project off the ground!

Thanks to the team’s epic efforts local people in Newtownards facing hunger over the festive period were able to receive emergency food. The Trussell Trust is delighted to have launched our first foodbank in Northern Ireland and we’re hoping to see lots more follow in the region.