Christmas is always an expensive time. While we all want to be able to treat our family and friends to amazing presents and memorable experiences, the prices unfortunately soon add up. And, this year, we also have the cost of living crisis to contend with - more expensive fuel, more expensive food and household items and, perhaps most devastatingly, more expensive gas and electric bills.
Across the UK, national charities and organisations behind foodbanks are appealing to the public to support them. One such organisation, The Trussell Trust, has launched an emergency appeal in anticipation for a huge number of people to visit its foodbanks over the Winter. The Trust, the UK's largest network of foodbanks, estimates around 1.3 million emergency food parcels will be distributed to people in need over the next six months. For more news around the Cost of Living crisis, go here.
Plus, local and community foodbanks are also struggling. Many in the Swansea Bay area are now appealing for donations of specific items, which can be distributed to people-in-need, whilst clothing banks and baby banks are also crying out for support.
Read more: The pizza shop giving away free hot takeaway meals to people using a foodbank
Scroll down for information on foodbanks and baby banks in the Swansea Bay area, what items they need and how you can support them. Alternatively, if you live in the Cardiff area, you can see what items are needed for drop-off at foodbanks in the capital here.
If you work or volunteer at a foodbank in the Swansea Bay area that you'd like to be mentioned in this article - get in touch by email: molly.dowrick@walesonline.co.uk
Swansea Foodbank
Swansea Foodbank operates several foodbanks across Swansea and they all operate by a 'voucher referral system'. This means people who qualify to use the foodbank are given a voucher from a local agency, which they can use to spend at their local foodbank centre.
What items are needed?
In the run-up to Christmas, volunteers are appealing to the public donate: instant coffee, tea bags, squash, rice, instant mashed potato, tinned fruit, custard, rice pudding, tinned vegetables, tinned fish, jam, chutney, tinned meat and biscuits. They have enough pasta and beans currently.
They'd also be grateful to receive toiletries like shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and soap - as well as Christmas items, such as cakes, biscuit selections, chocolate selection boxes, mince pies and puddings.
Where can items be dropped off?
Items can be donated to any of the foodbank centres (see list below) during their opening hours. You can check for the full addresses of each of the foodbank centres, and their opening hours, on the Swansea Foodbank website here.
- Red Community Project, Mumbles Road, Mumbles
- Ty Croeso, High Street, Clydach
- St Thomas Church, Lewis Street, St Thomas
- St Catherine's Church, Princess Street, Gorseinon
- Mayhill Community Centre, Mayhill Road, Mayhill
- Penderry Community Pantry, South Penlan Community Centre, Penlan
- LifePoint Church, Fynone Road, Uplands
Alternatively, people can also leave donations at collection points at supermarkets and stores across the city: Tesco Llansamlet, Tesco Fforestfach, Asda Gorseinon, Sainsbury's Gorseinon, Lloyds Bank Gorseinon, Co-op Killay, Co-op Bryn Road, Co-op Mumbles, Co-op Bishopston, Yorkshire Building Society on Union Street and at at a donation point in the Quadrant Shopping Centre. For more exact locations and the opening hours, for the drop-off points: go here.
Swansea BabyBasics (Swansea Baby Bank)
St Thomas Church in Swansea has become a hub for the community in recent years, offering a foodbank, facilities for the homeless people, a not-for-profit cafe with a community training kitchen - and its also home to the Swansea Baby Basics scheme.
The volunteer-led project supports vulnerable families living in Swansea and sends clothing, toiletries and other essentials to parents. During the Royal visit in September, their Royal Highnesses The Prince and Princess of Wales were impressed by the hard work happening at the BabyBank and praised volunteers for providing so many important items to struggling parents - as well as writing a thoughtful note, giving the donations that special, personal touch. You can read more about that here.
What items are needed?
Swansea BabyBasics is running low on toiletries including women's shampoo, women's deodorant, nappy cream and baby shampoo, baby wash, baby lotion. They also need breast pads, baby/hand towels and warm coats (aged newborn to 0-3 months). They'd also be pleased to receive any spare Moses baskets.
Where can items be dropped off?
Donations can be brought to St Thomas Church on Lewis Street in St Thomas anytime between 10am to 1pm Monday to Friday.
Sketty Foodbank
Sketty Foodbank in Swansea is an independent foodbank provides emergency food parcels to people-in-need. It's open to everyone but having a referral is preferred.
Currently, volunteers at the Foodbank are encouraging supporters and members of the public to take part in a "reverse advent calendar" - instead of having a chocolate or sweet each day of December (or, as well as having the daily treat), put an item aside for the foodbank - and donate the items in the New Year.
What items are needed?
You can see the suggested items in the linked image below. Items include cereal, tuna, pasta, pasta sauce, biscuits and washing powder.
Where can items be dropped off?
Items can be dropped off to Sketty Foodbank at Maes y Gollen, Parklands, Swansea SA2 8HQ. It's open Tuesdays from 11am to 1pm and on Wednesdays from 10am to 3.30pm.
Pontarddualais Area Food Bank
The Pontarddulais Area Food Bank is open to all and is based in a small community centre on Dulais Road in Pontarddulais, Swansea. Earlier this year, the food bank's manger Catherine Evans told us how she and volunteers had seen an increase in the number of people relying on the foodbank for support but, unfortunately, a decrease in the amount of items people in the community can afford to donate.
She said previously: "We are finding the same issues [as other foodbanks] - more people need donations but less people are donating, especially older people in the community: we used to see people bring in things quite regularly but they can't always afford to now. But I've always said: 'if you can only give one can, that's still one can - it does help."
"We receive 50% of our items via donations and 50% is paid for by grant funding from the Swansea Council Food Poverty fund and the Welsh Government Food Poverty fund," she added. "But we are finding we need to go out to buy more [as we don't have enough in the Food Bank]. It's terrible, people just can't make ends meet and we're in a bit of a lull."
What items are needed?
At the moment, Pontarddulais Area Food Bank is "very short" of long life milk, and also in need of: tinned soup, tinned ready meals, tinned beans/spaghetti, sweet and savoury spreads (e.g. marmite, sandwich spread, paste, peanut butter, chocolate spread), tea, coffee, long life fruit juice, cake mixes, gravy mix, stuffing mix, jars of pickles/onion/beetroot, savoury and sweet biscuits and crisps (small bags or multipacks are both fine).
The Food Bank is also in need of toiletries including toothbrushes and toothpaste, shower gel/soap, shampoo and deodorants.
They'd also appreciate donations of festive items like Christmas Puddings and Christmas sweets/chocolates like chocolate coins, chocolate Santas and selection boxes.
F.A.N Community Alliance, Neath
F.A.N. (Friends and Neighbours) Community Alliance in Neath aims to bring the community together, reduce loneliness, strengthen bonds, build resilience and rejuvenate community spirit. Trustees also run a Food Bank for people in the community.
What items are needed?
A spokesperson for the foodbank at F.A.N Community Alliance said they had a "pretty small but balanced stock". Items they tend to run out of, and would therefore like to receive in the run-up to Christmas, are: UHT milk, squash, coffee, cooking oil, sugar, instant mash and tinned potatoes.
Periodically, the foodbank runs low on 'meal in a can' items such as tinned meatballs, spaghetti bolognaise, beef stew, chicken in white sauce and jars of pasta and curry sauce. Currently, the foodbank is 'ok' for those at the moment - and they have enough soup and tinned fruit.
Where can items be dropped off?
Volunteers would prefer if people contacted them directly before bringing items, as their opening times vary. You can contact them by email: fancommunity@outlook.com.
Resolven Food Bank
Volunteers run a foodbank for the Resolven community from Building Blocks Family Centre. The foodbank will provide support to anyone - you do not need a referral. However, people do need to request their food bank parcel before they arrive at the foodbank. People can do this by emailing foodbank@buildingblocksfamilycentre.co.uk, by calling Building Blocks Family Centre on 01639 710076 or by texting the Food Bank Mobile on 0752 367 18 11.
The family centre also offers a dedicated family support service to families, children and young people living in poverty or who are financially disadvantaged, across Neath Port Talbot.
What items are needed?
Volunteers said they are "extremely low" on the following items: tinned vegetables/potatoes, tinned meat, tinned spaghetti, beans, crisps, baby formula, sauce for rice, toilet roll, squash/juice and tinned fish.
They currently have plenty of pasta and sanitary products, so would prefer donations of other items (as listed above).
Where can items be dropped off?
There is a donation box in the foyer of Building Blocks Family Centre, Resolven ICC, Resolven, Neath, SA11 4AB. The building is open for donations from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday.
There's also a donation box in the FamilyShopper shop in Resolven that is open until 9.30pm daily.
Banc Bwyd Port Talbot Food Bank
This foodbank supplies food for "local people in crisis" in the Port Talbot area.
What items are needed?
With Christmas coming up, volunteers would appreciate donations of the following items, ideally by mid-November (in-time for Christmas hampers): advent calendars, selection boxes, Christmas puddings, Christmas cake, yule logs, mince pies, crackers for cheese, boxes of sweets, tinned cream/custard, picked onions, beetroot, chutneys, tinned ham, tinned salmon, boxes of biscuits and boxes of chocolate
Where can items be dropped off?
The Food Bank's permanent collection points are at: Tesco Port Talbot, Tesco Express Briton Ferry, Lidl Baglan Moors, Nisa Express Margam, Nisa Express Victoria Road, Dylan's Venue in Cwmafan, Cwmafan library, Co-op Cwmafan, as well as Carmel Chapel (on Mondys from 10am to 12pm) and Tabernacle Chapel (on Wednesdays from 9.30am to 12pm)
Bethel Baby Bank and Food Bank (and Sandfields Church Baby Bank)
Bethel Baby Bank is based at Bethel Community Church in Aberavon. The baby bank was set up in the summer, after volunteers at the church realised people were struggling to afford things they needed for the newest additions to their families amid the cost of living crisis.
Bethel Baby Bank is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11am to 2pm by referral via a social worker, GP, or other relevant party. Alternatively, if someone is "desperate" for an item, they can contact the baby bank and the volunteers will arrange for items to be available for collection. All items are free though a small donation is encouraged if possible so volunteers can obtain further items to be donated to other people in need.
"We've had a community foodbank at the church. The foodbank is open to all and we realised recently that there was the need for a baby bank," one of the lead volunteers, Julie Mills, explained previously. "Some people are really struggling to afford the necessities, and the big purchases, for their babies and so they come to us for things like toiletries, clothing, changing mats, Moses baskets, blankets."
As well as supporting people each week, the team at Bethel Bay Bank are also in the process of supporting the team at Sandfields Presbyterian Church set up a baby clothing bank for their local community. A post on social media explains: "Sandfields Presbyterian Church (Western Avenue, Sandfields) and Bethel Community Church (Sandfields Road, Aberavon,) provide good quality used baby items, clothing from newborn to 24 months, blankets, nappies, milk, bottles all FREE of charge to anyone who is struggling. Referrals from agencies and walk-ins are all welcome. Visit our website for a referral form (www.betheltrustpt.co.uk) Email Liz from Bethel BB at betheltrustpt@gmail.com and Tina from Sandfields Presbyterian Church BB (clothing) at tsaunders616@yahoo.com"
What items are needed?
Good quality baby clothing and blankets, as well as nappies, milk and bottles would all be gratefully received by baby bank volunteers.
Where can items be dropped off?
You can contact volunteers via the Facebook group 'Bethel and Sandfields baby banks' to arrange to drop off your donations.
Canolfan Maerdy Food Hub
Canolfan Maerdy provides community services including childcare, youth work, welfare support and social activities to people in the Upper Amman/Twrch Valley. The organisation also runs a 'food hub'.
People can collect foodboxes from the hub on Fridays between 1pm and 2pm. Referrals are accepted from any agency or support service, or individuals can contact the Food Hub themselves, if they need items or support.
What items are needed?
Currently, the Food Hub is particularly short of tinned fruit, tinned meat, tinned fish and pasta sauces. The Hub has enough pasta and beans.
With Christmas coming up, the Food Hub would like to offer each family some festive items with their food box - so if anyone is able to donate some Christmassy items, they'd be gratefully received.
Where can items be dropped off?
Canolfan Maerdy Food Hub is open for donations from 10am to 3pm from Monday to Friday at Canolfan Maerdy, New Road, Tairgwaith, SA18 1UP. You can contact the team there by calling 01269 826893
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