As the cost of living crisis begins to hit home Ledbury Food Bank are expanding its services to help those in most need in our community.

The food bank has a contract with Citizens Advice to assist people to apply for Universal Credit and also helps visitors apply for fuel grants to assist with the increasing cost of gas and electricity. It has also received a grant from the government’s Household Support Fund to provide food vouchers and cooking equipment such as microwave ovens and slow cookers, which are cheaper to run than conventional cookers, to visitors.

Thanks to the generosity of their landlord, Ledbury Holdings Ltd, the food bank has been provide with the use of additional storage space, free of charge, in order that they can provide donated school uniforms and bedding to those who are struggling to buy them.

Demand for food and other essentials reaching unprecedented levels and it continues to increase every month. Chair of the Lead Team at the food bank, Mark Lister, says ‘By the end of August we have distributed almost as many food parcels as we did in the whole of 2021’.

In order to meet the increased call on its services it now opens each Thursday evening between 6.00 and 8.00 in addition to its usual Wednesday and Friday morning sessions.

The food bank has been supported by local residents and businesses to enable it to meet the demands made upon it. Mark Lister said ‘We are very grateful to all who donate either food items or money to help us to support our increasing number of visitors’. The food bank has had significant support from Galebreaker Ltd and ABE(Ledbury)Ltd with whom they have worked in partnership over the last year.

The coming winter is likely to provide the biggest challenge yet for the food bank and local residents but thanks to its large team of enthusiastic volunteers it is confident that it can meet it.

Anyone who needs the support of the food bank should just turn up to one of its sessions where they will be welcomed and offered a hot drink and something to eat.