Food bank reaches far and wide

To visit Rye food bank now is a very different experience. The same service is being provided but volunteers are busy working behind closed doors and all food is delivered.

This week there were 59 orders for emergency food for 89 children and 96 adults. All orders are carefully selected and packed by volunteers and loaded into the vans for delivery.  This week our drivers delivered boxes within Rye, and to Rye Foreign, Camber, Rye Harbour, Winchelsea, Icklesham, Broad Oak, Northiam and Beckley. Also boxes for our clients in Westfield were collected by volunteers from Westfield.

The number of items for this weeks delivery were around 3,000 weighing in at nearly two tonnes.   Each delivery will include sufficient nutrition for three days for each person in the household. These items are all included in each delivery:

• Cereal
• Soup
• Pasta
• Rice
• Tinned tomatoes/ pasta sauce
• Lentils, beans and pulses
• Tinned meat
• Tinned vegetables
• Tea/coffee
• Tinned fruit
• Biscuits
• UHT milk
• Fruit juice

We also provide essential non-food items such as toiletries and hygiene products wherever possible, especially baby food and nappies when necessary.

Food deliveries are made possible due to the generous loan of an electric van from the charity Hands of Hope with driver Ashley Madden and a van from Rye and District Community Transport with driver team Andy and Niki Stuart.

Chris Emson, food bank manager and all the volunteers appreciate the fantastically generous donations received each week that allow us to deliver some relief to those in difficulty. Thank you so much and please keep the donations coming as we need to continue to meet this increased demand.

Items we are short of for next week are tinned vegetables (not sweetcorn), tomatoes and rice. If you can help us with these items that would be so appreciated. Donations of non perishable, in-date tinned food can be received at the back of the Baptist Church in Cinque Ports Street on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10am until about 3pm.

Donations can be sent to the Rye Branch of Bexhill Food Bank at Barclays bank, sort code 20-54-25, account number 83501116, the Jempson Foundation or cheques to Rye Food Bank c/o 24 North Salts, Rye.

Image Credits: Mags Ivatts .