Shobdon Food Festival is backing two county charities this year (From Ledbury Reporter)

Shobdon Food Festival is backing two county charities this year

10:46am Tuesday 12th March 2013 in News

ORGANISERS of a fast-growing county food festival will be backing two Herefordshire charities this year as well as a raft of other good causes in the local community.

Shobdon Food Festival, which takes place in June and attracts thousands of visitors, will be supporting the Little Princess Trust and Megan Baker House.

The Little Princess Trust provides real hair wigs, free of charge, to children and young adults undergoing treatment for cancer. The charity was set up by the parents of five-year-old Hannah Tarplee from Herefordshire who died of a form of kidney cancer in 2005.

Megan Baker House (MBH), near Leominster, offers support for children, teenagers and adults with a variety of motor disabilities through an education process known as Conductive Education. MBH helps people with Cerebral Palsy, Dyspraxia and early on-set Parkinson’s disease, as well as people who have suffered head injuries or stroke, to gain greater levels of movement and independence.

Shobdon Food Festival organiser, Matt Teale said: “These are two fantastic charities doing truly life-changing work and we are delighted to be able to support them. Our ethos has always been to give local artisans an additional shop window for their skills while raising money for good causes and they don’t come much better, or much more local, than Megan Baker House and The Little Princess Trust.”

Lee Gough, chief executive of MBH said: “We offer our services, both at our centre in Herefordshire and through our outreach programmes, completely free of charge which means we constantly need to be raising funds. We are thrilled that such a great local event has offered to support us. It really will make such a difference.”

With the funds raised, MBH is hoping to add an additional programme for 7-10 year olds with Dyspraxia, a neurological problem that can affect all aspects of a child’s development. They currently have a waiting list.

The Little Princess Trust’s charity manager, Monica Glass, said: “Everyone connected with the Little Princess Trust is delighted to be associated with the Shobdon Food Festival and feel very privileged to be one of the charities benefiting from the event.”

The festival, which will continue to raise money for Shobdon’s renowned church, takes place on June 29 and 30 at its new home at Shobdon Airfield alongside Herefordshire Aeroclub’s Aviation Weekend. For more information visit Shobdon Food Festival’s new website at www.shobdonfoodfestival.co.uk n For more information on the charities being supported visit: www.meganbakerhouse.org.uk or www.littleprincesses.org.uk