KCOM collection helps Hull Foodbank

The goods, collected at KCOM offices across the city, brought in a whole range of essential foodstuffs ranging from baked beans and pasta to teabags and breakfast cereals.

The collection will provide the equivalent of 235 food parcels which will now be distributed by Hull Food Bank.

Russ Barlow, Hull Foodbank manager, said he was delighted with the response in what was proving a challenging time for many.

He said: “It’s difficult to say what people would do without the foodbank as often there is nowhere else for them turn. In many cases, people would just go hungry. Every week we will get someone who has not eaten for two or three days.

“In Hull, last year we helped 5,600 people, 1,300 of which were children, and we rely on public donations and donations from churches and businesses – so this collection is very welcome.

“Summer time is an especially difficult time of year because children who are normally at school having free school dinners are at home, which puts extra pressure on parents and can often push people over the edge.

“The range of people who use the foodbank is very wide. It’s often not the people you’d expect. We get working people coming in who can’t make ends meet, people who have been made redundant and other people who, through no fault of their own, have fallen on hard times; people who have worked their way through the freezer and have nothing left.

“We’d like to say a really big thank you for KCOM and its employees. Every donation makes a huge difference to someone’s life and – especially at this time of year – to many children’s lives.”

Vouchers given out by the scheme will now be able to be exchanged for food parcels at the Food Bank in Waltham Street, in Hull city centre.

Brendon Smurthwaite, KCOM’s community coordinator, said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for our people to get involved in helping the local community and the response we had to the collection was very good.

“There are many reasons why people find themselves in food poverty and the problem can be even more acute during the summer holidays when children who normally have school dinners are at home.

“Having the collection was an easy way for us to make a difference at an important time of the year.”

You can make a difference by donating food items to Hull Foodbank at collection points at Tesco, in St Stephen’s shopping centre and at Waitrose, in Willerby. For more details or to donate to Hull Foodbank visit https://hull.foodbank.org.uk