Cleckheaton Food Bank: ‘We are here to help people in times of crisis'

“2023 was our first full year operating as a Registered Charity. We raised a lot of money and we gave out a lot of food. All of this was only possible by the work of our wonderful volunteers.

“After a very busy start to the year, demand steadied out through spring and summer, but is definitely on the rise again since the winter months started. The triple squeeze of rising demand, rising prices and falling donations - as people are stretched by the cost of living impact - means we have to work even harder to keep going.

“One of the biggest impacts of 2023 has been an increase in the cost of food. When the Food Bank started during the pandemic in 2020 the average cost of a food parcel was about £10. It is now more than double that. While we continue to get great support from our community the number of food donations has decreased, increasing our reliance on successful grant applications.

“The continued support of Tesco in Cleckheaton, Mill Bridge Asda (was Co-op) and National Floorcoverings have all helped, as they all give regular support in very different ways. The One Community Match Funding drive we had in late 2022/early 2023 was something we had never done before. Usually we ask the public to give us their time or donate food - but on this occasion we asked for their cash - and they helped us smash our target! Our Charity Aid Foundation link (https://cleckheatonfoodbank.weebly.com/donate.html) remains open all year round now, so it’s a big thank you to everyone who made a donation in 2023; we could not have served our community without you.

“Our volunteers are our main strength, and we are always on the lookout for new people to join our team - if you are interested in helping make a difference contact us ([email protected]). Without all our lovely volunteers we would not be here at all - whether it is a few hours every now and then or a weekly slot packing, delivering, restocking, on the phones, building community links, administration or leading one of these teams our volunteers have helped make a huge difference in a lot of people's lives.

“The other thing we always need is carrier bags - it’s a small but essential part of how we operate so if you have some spare in a drawer or cupboard please consider donating them to us.

“Thinking back to early 2020 and when we started as part of a local Covid-19 community response we had no idea that we would still be here, more than three years later with over 50 volunteers delivering over 1,700 food parcels to more than 300 households.

“Looking ahead we anticipate no big changes in 2024. While we would love to have to close down due to lack of demand, it does not look like that is going to happen any time soon.

“If you are a household that is struggling with food please do get in touch on 07955 732598. We are here to help people in times of crisis.

“Thanks to everyone who has helped and supported Cleckheaton Food Bank this year. We look forward to continuing to work with you in 2024 to ensure no-one in our community goes hungry.”