We have such marvellous friends! Thank you to all those who think of us at this time, the build up to Christmas, and who donate to help those less fortunate than themselves. Thank you especially to those who give us their winter fuel allowance because they realise they don’t need it and others do.
We have several client families at present who face very tough choices between heating the home and buying food. Those who struggle on the very lowest incomes and claim Universal Credit have had the £20 extra top up taken away. This is the largest cut to social security since the second world war and very hard to make up when you cannot work due to disability or childcare. The loss of £20 per week has been a devastating blow to many already struggling to make ends meet.
If you, or anyone you know is experiencing difficulty please contact us. We will help. Not only do we provide food we also have welfare advice and can help with any problems relating to benefits, housing and heating costs. You will not be judged and you will be welcomed. Send an email to ryefoodbank@gmail.com or phone 07526 349847.
Please help us provide all our clients with extra at Christmas. We are making up hampers and would like to include specific festive goods. We are sorry we cannot manage anything that is not edible, as we have little storage space, and we cannot accept anything that is out of date, contains alcohol, is open or damaged. We welcome cakes, biscuits, Christmas puddings and tinned ham and fish. Any of these things put a smile on everyone’s faces.
This week we say goodbye to our store manager Ash Madden who is leaving us to move to Cumbria. He has contributed hugely to Rye Foodbank over the last three years, especially during the pandemic when he undertook food deliveries all over Rother. He has worked tirelessly and is a highly valued member of the volunteer team. We will all miss him. A Rye Foodbank friend indeed. Thank you Ash for all your hard work. Best wishes to new beginnings for you and your family.
We are open every Wednesday at the Baptist church hall, Cinque Ports Street from 1pm until 3pm.
Monetary donations can be sent to Rye Foodbank at Barclays Bank, sort code 20-54-25, account number 83501116, through the Jempson Foundation or cheques to Rye Foodbank c/o 24 North Salts, Rye. If you donate via the Jempson Foundation and are a taxpayer, gift aid can be applied, thereby increasing the value of the donation by 25% at no cost to the donor. If you make a bank transfer, please do send us a message (via ryefoodbank@gmail.com) so we know who it is from and can send a receipt, if required.
Image Credits: Mags Ivatts , Sean Jordan https://www.Instagram.com/sean_j8 .
Ash has been an ongoing inspiration and, as Mags says, a greatly valued member of the Foodbank team. The work he has so unstintingly done has made a real difference to many people in and around Rye. We wish him and Linda the very, very best for their move and for the future.
How can anyone read this article and not condemn this absurd government for its lack of humanity? I personally know people for whom the withdrawal of the £20pw payment has been a shattering blow. I feel embarrassed at how small my financial contribution to the Food Bank is and I fully support the idea of contributing the Winter Fuel Payment, or a part thereof, to them.
To readers around the world, think of the beneficiaries living in and around Rye, not only at Christmas but throughout the year. Not only think, but please make an actual contribution.