The run-up to the Christmas period can be an expensive time for many but this year in particular, with the cost of living crisis and rise in energy bills, a lot people are struggling more than ever. The Trussell Trust, the UK's largest network of foodbanks, has launched an emergency appeal in anticipation of the huge number of people set to be using foodbanks this winter.
The charity is expecting to distribute 1.3m emergency food parcels to its members over the next six months. In 2021 foodbanks were spending an average of £750 a month of their own funds to top up donations but this has almost doubled to £1,400 this year.
Earlier this month Emma Shepherd, project manager of the Trussell Trust's Cardiff Foodbank said that it had seen an almost 42% increase in demand since this time last year and that, across the city's eight centres, it has become "noticeably busier".
Across the UK foodbanks are now having to purchase three times as much food as they did last year as the gap between donations and food being distributed is growing. You can donate to the Trussell Trust's emergency fund here. Below is a list of items that Cardiff foodbanks need most at the moment.
What Cardiff foodbank currently needs
- Savoury snacks (crisps etc)
- Chocolate and sweets
- Rice pudding
- Fruit juice (long life - one litre)
- Custard
- Jam and spreads
- Tinned fruit
- Tinned tomatoes
- Tinned carrots
- Tinned potatoes
- Long grain rice (1kg bags)
- Deodorant and antiperspirant
- Shampoo and conditioner
The foodbank says it has plenty of baked beans, pasta, cereal, tinned soup, sweetcorn, tea, and cat food. A typical food parcel includes enough food for at least three days of healthy, balanced meals for individuals and families. They include cereal, soup, pasta and sauce, rice, tinned meat, vegetables, and fruit, biscuits, snacks, fruit juice, and tea or coffee.
How do I donate food items?
There are three ways you can donate food to Cardiff Foodbank. You can drop donations off at their warehouse (Cardiff Foodbank Warehouse, Unit G, Cardiff Bay Business Centre, Titan Road, CF24 5BS). The foodbank also welcomes online supermarket food shop deliveries of long life and non-perishable items to the warehouse or you can drop off items at more than 30 collection points across Cardiff which you can find listed here.
Where are the foodbanks in Cardiff?
The Trussell Trust has eight sites across Cardiff, all of which are open for clients only for at least one day of the week. Their locations and opening times are as follows:
Cathays
Open on Tuesdays (1pm-3pm) and Saturdays (11am-1pm)
Woodville Christian Centre
Crwys Road
Cathays
Cardiff
CF24 4ND
Central
Open Thursdays (10am-12pm)
City Church
Cowbridge Road East
Cardiff
CF11 9AD
Ely
Mondays (1pm-3pm) and Thursdays (1pm-3pm)
New Ely Church
Archer Road
Ely
Cardiff
CF5 4FN
Grangetown
Fridays (12pm-2pm)
Grangetown Baptist Church
Clive Street
Grangetown
Cardiff
CF11 7HP
Llanedeyrn
Open Wednesdays (1pm-3pm) and Fridays (11.30am-1.30pm)
St Philip Evans Church
Llanedeyrn Drive
Llanedeyrn
Cardiff
CF23 9UL
Splott
Open Wednesdays (1pm-3pm) and Thursdays (6.30pm-8pm)
St Saviours Church
Splott Road
Cardiff
CF24 2BW
St Mellons
Mondays 1pm-3pm
Church of the Resurrection
4 Crickhowell Road
St Mellons
Cardiff
CF3 0EH
Tongwynlais
Open Wednesdays (2pm-6pm)
Ainon Baptist Church
Market Street
Tongwynlais
CF15 7LG
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