Asda Larne Community Champion presents Larne Foodbank with £1,000 grant cheque from the Asda Foundation
Asda’s charity, The Asda Foundation, has awarded over £250,000 worth of grants to 270 foodbanks across the UK, including 13 in Northern Ireland.
Grants awarded are between £500 and £1,000 and are aimed at supporting foodbanks with essential needs.
Funding can be used by the awarded groups to purchase food supplies, basic hygiene items, and contribute to storage and fuel / delivery costs.
One of the successful groups to receive funding of £1,000 is the Larne Foodbank, part of the Trussell Trust network of foodbanks that has been in operation since 2013. Its aim is to reduce the effects of food poverty in the local community by providing parcels of essential food and toiletries to people living in the Larne area.
The Asda Foundation funding will be used by the group to pay for items that the foodbank is short on over the next few months - such as long shelf-life food items – and Maureen Morrow, a Committee Member at Larne Foodbank said that the grant funding “will go a long way in helping them to ensure nobody in the Larne area goes hungry this winter”.
Gail Caldwell, Community Champion at Asda Larne, said:
“I’m delighted to have worked with Larne Foodbank to help secure its grant of £1,000 from the Asda Foundation. I know this money will make a massive difference to them over the coming months – especially as we go into the colder winter season when demand is much higher for these important services.
“The team do an amazing job for the community, sorting out food parcels all year round to meet the needs of local people, so I’m so pleased to be able to support them through the Asda Foundation grants initiative.”
Karl Doyle, Chair of the Asda Foundation, said:
“Foodbanks and local food organisations provide support to some of the most vulnerable people in our communities when they are facing hard times. We know that they are a lifeline service to many, often facing high demand with the added pressure of shortages in donations and volunteers. We hope this Asda Foundation funding can support their needs in the final months of the year.”