Generous donations to Cirencester's foodbank

Gardiner Haskins Cirencester, based in Dyer Street, visited Cirencester Foodbank with items on Tuesday, July 16.

Products from the home centre included food from tinned fruit to noodles, as well as cat food and antibacterial spray.

Cirencester Foodbank with Fairford & Tetbury’s Food Poverty Report: South Cotswolds for April 2023 to March this year revealed a 44 per cent increase in the average number of referrals to Cirencester Foodbank in the week preceding and during school holidays.

Commenting on the donation, Karley Robbins, marketing manager at Gardiner Haskins, said: “I recently attended the launch of the 2024 Food Poverty Report: South Cotswolds as we had recently donated £1,248 through some fundraising in April.

“I was shocked to hear the statistics from the foodbank and knew we had a responsibility as a local independent retailer to help where we could.

“After all, we would be nothing without the support of the Cirencester community.”

The report period saw the provision of 4,416 emergency food parcels.

Anton Wynn, foodbank head, said: “We are so grateful to all at Gardiner Haskins for their continued support.

“The summer holidays leave families with reduced support and, especially when children lose access to their free school meals, increases the already-high cost of living they are struggling with.

“This can leave parents going without meals to ensure children are fed.

“It’s no surprise that referrals to our foodbank have more than doubled in the week prior to the holidays starting.

“These donations will provide much-needed support to local people going without the essentials.”

If you are able to support Cirencester Foodbank this summer, you can find more information on its website (including the Food Poverty Report: South Cotswolds) at cirencester.foodbank.org.uk

If you’d like to know what’s currently on the foodbank's wishlist, you can download the app BankTheFood from Google Play or the App Store.