The Rt Revd Tony Robinson will be joining volunteers from St Catherine’s Church, Wakefield, to help bag pack at the Sainsbury’s on Ings Road on Friday 31st July and Saturday 1st August, and they are still looking for extra volunteers.
The Revd will be joined on the bag pack by 12 teenagers on the NCS (National Citizen Service scheme) programme who have chosen St Catherine’s for their 30 hour Social Action Project, for which they will also be helping to run the Emergency Food Store and Day Care Service for a week, along with hosting a day of activities for the children.
For the 14 hours that the volunteers will bag pack, between 10am and 5pm on both days, the food bank is hoping to raise around £2,000 to help towards their Emergency Food Store.
The bag packing opportunity comes after the Church’s food bank was named as Sainsbury’s Charity of the Year for 2015/16 by the branch for the incredible work they do in the local community.
Jonathan Williams, Project Administrator, says, “Last year the generosity of our community enabled us to provide 40,000 meals to men, women and children in dire need, as well as substantial donations to rural food banks much smaller than ours.
“We are on track to provide over 4,000 emergency food parcels this year through something like 34 tons of food and so we are thrilled that Sainsbury’s have chosen us to be their Charity Of The Year.
“Their financial and material support will make a massive difference to us in the coming months as we strive to meet growing levels of demand.”
He mentions, “We have been invited to hold a number of bag packs over the next twelve months, starting with Friday 31st July and Saturday 1st August.
“We are expecting to raise £1,000 a day but this will be impossible without the kind support of people willing to spare 90 minutes or a couple of hours.
“In order to make the most of the opportunity Sainsbury’s have given us, we really need help covering the tills.”
Some of the wards in Wakefield are among the most deprived areas in the country, so St Catherine's food bank provides help for local people living beneath the poverty line, giving aid to families before other social care procedures can be applied.
The food bank is the largest in Wakefield and the Five Towns and was recently awarded the Community Enterprise Award at the Wakefield Express Business Awards on 25th June.
If you are interested in helping at the bag pack to raise money for this fantastic cause, please contact Jonathan Williams at St Catherine’s Church Centre via foodstore@stcatherines-wakefield.org.uk or by calling 01924 211130.