We at Abergavenny Foodbank are very grateful to the local community for everything that you have done to help us over the last 18 months, which have been so challenging for so many. During the pandemic, the number of food parcels we provided increased dramatically from March 2020 onwards, with overall a more than 40% increase in food parcels in 2020-21 compared to 2019-20. The numbers have reduced now, but are still higher than pre-pandemic, and we do not know how big an impact the changes to furlough and £20/week reduction in Universal Credit will have. But the response from the community – individuals, groups and organisations and the local supermarkets – in donating both food and financially, has meant that we have had enough food to be able to manage the increased demand.
The list of people and groups is too great to thank everyone individually. However, to give a couple of examples of how the community has responded, we would like to thank Orchard Acre Market Garden in Llanfapley, who provide us beautiful, spray free, fresh vegetables and salad every week. They are having a family friendly, open farm tour on Tuesday 24th August 2021 from 2-5pm, if you are interested in finding out more about what they do. We also had a visit recently from representatives of Llanbedr Church in Wales School, who brought 86.5kg food and gifts that they had collected across their community. This week we had a financial donation from Govilon Village Stores, who keep a jar on the counter for the Foodbank, that shoppers can put their change in. Everything you do helps us to support people in need – whether you put food in the baskets at your supermarket when you do a shop, or are one of our regular financial donors. Thank you.