Brighouse families get big boost from Tesco shoppers

Brighouse Central Foodbank, part of Brighouse Central Methodist Church, provides emergency food parcels to families and individuals in need of support.

The grant forms part of Tesco’s Stronger Starts scheme, which awards funds to charities and community organisations that make a positive difference in the lives of children and young people.

Rachel Owens, Foodbank Manager at Brighouse Central Foodbank, said: “We rely heavily on members of the public to donate items of food to us, and on fundraising to keep our shelves stocked. Over the last few months, we have seen a significant increase in the number of individuals, couples and families who are coming to us to request food parcels.

“Despite the cost-of-living crisis, the people of Brighouse continue to be incredibly supportive, and donations of food are left in our collection points at their local supermarkets. However, we have recently had to start purchasing certain food items to ensure that our service users are being given nutritional food, as the donations we are receiving are not meeting the increasing demands being placed on us.

“To ensure that we can continue with the work that we do, we need to actively raise funds so that at our busiest times, we can afford to buy the food that we need.”

Yorkshire Tesco shoppers voted to donate the maximum grant of £1,500 to Brighouse Central Foodbank, which will be used to purchase nutritious food to supplement the community donations the organisation receives.

Rachel continued: “As well as meeting the needs of our service users, we can also support schools and ensure that in the school holidays, children who would normally receive a free school meal, will be provided with a food parcel from us and therefore will not go hungry whilst at home. We also provide food parcels to people who are in temporary accommodation, including survivors of domestic abuse, asylum seekers, and people who have experienced homelessness.

“We’re incredibly grateful to Tesco and the Brighouse community that voted for us to receive this grant, which will really help us to continue our important work.”

Claire De Silva, Head of Community at Tesco, said: “We’re delighted that we can help schools through initiatives such as Brighouse Central Foodbank, which are at the heart of their communities. Tesco Stronger Starts invites our customers to vote using their blue token for local schemes that they feel are important to help our communities thrive, and it’s good to see the impact that the funding makes.”

The Stronger Starts scheme aims to support many more Yorkshire community projects and good causes in the coming years, with thousands of pounds to give away.

Yorkshire shoppers can support their local charities and children’s groups by dropping the Tesco blue token they receive at checkout into the relevant voting box as they leave the store.

To learn more about Brighouse Central Foodbank, visit: https://www.brighousecmc.org/foodbank/

To apply for Stronger Starts funding, go online at https://tescostrongerstarts.org.uk