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Maidstone Homeless Care runs a food bank supplying groceries to help top up the shopping of individuals and families who are struggling in the current climate.
The pandemic and the huge hike in fuel bills has seen an increase in the numbers applying for assistance.
We have links with some of the major supermarkets, Sainsburys, Morrisons and Waitrose who allow us to have bins in their stores for generous customers to donate groceries. Some of the supermarkets also supply us with goods that are surplus to their requirements. Farmers and other small businesses also provide us with food, and we are supported by schools, churches, local communities and individuals.
Using the very welcome cash donations received we have decided to improve on the quality of our food parcels by adding some fresh produce to each parcel. We are able to do this partly because of the generosity of people making cash donations either directly to the Day Centre or online here. Giving us cash makes a huge difference to Maidstone Homeless Care and the quality of the food parcels we can provide.
We are now working with FareShare and are able to buy fresh food from them at a significantly reduced rate thus making financial donations much more effective.
Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of good food is wasted by the UK food industry every year. At the same time, millions of people are struggling to afford to eat. Our work addresses these two issues by redistributing food industry surplus, which would otherwise go to waste, to the people who need it most - FareShare.org.uk
Not only does working with FareShare mean that we are helping towards their join aims of tackling food waste and helping those who really need it, but the type of food we get from from FareShare is really beneficial to our clients. Although we are incredibly grateful for donations of pasta, rice, soup, and other basic items, we can all agree that these do not constitute a balanced diet. FareShare are able to provide fruit, vegetables, meat and diary products that we are less likely to receive via our Food Bank, which we can provide to clients in a nutritious food parcel.
We also appreciate that these fresh, 'healthier', items are on the pricier side of a food shop, and we don't believe that those affected by the cost-of-living crisis should go without.
You can help provide a food parcel like the one above for 33 people by donating just £5. Please consider making a donation online to help us help as many local people in need as possible.