It’s been a busy few months at Barnsley Foodbank Partnership, so we thought we would give everyone a little update on what’s been happening.
The May school holidays saw us launch the Cooking with Colour campaign. The family food parcels included recipe cards, encouraging children and adults alike to use colourful ingredients to make fun, nutritious meals. We also included a t-shirt competition in the family parcels, giving children a chance to design their own t-shirt for Barnsley Foodbank Partnership. The lucky winner got her design printed onto her very own t-shirt, as well as a voucher to award her efforts.
In June, restrictions altered and we brought back some volunteers who had previously been shielding. It was fantastic to see them after 15 months!
We also revealed that the Tesco Summer Campaign would return. The previous Summer collection was cancelled due to the pandemic and the Christmas collection went ahead but with limited volunteers, so it was a delight to hear that we could bring the Summer collection back again!
The collection went ahead mid-July, with volunteers able to get involved. We had leaflets, posters and lots of smiling faces to greet customers at Tesco Penistone, Hoyland and Stairfoot- it was such a success! The generosity of the public was incredible, with both adults and children donating food items or putting monetary donations into the bucket.
During the Summer holidays, we are sending our creative packs with our family food parcels. In them, children will find a range of crafts and activity sheets to keep them busy. There’s lots of crafting materials, puzzle sheets and colouring items in the packs, with everything put in a fun tote bag that the children can keep.
The food bank has remained open during the pandemic, with a lot of our volunteers coming in each day to help out. While nationwide restrictions have eased, we are continuing to be mindful and have kept some restrictions in place. We continue with mask wearing, social distancing and the use of hand sanitiser, as well as regularly washing our hands and cleaning work areas.
We continue to ask that anyone visiting the food bank wears a mask and social distances; we have hand sanitiser in reception too.
We also want to say a huge thank you, on behalf of us all, for the generosity and support from the people of Barnsley and beyond. From the Amazon Wish List gifts, to the monetary donations, to the bags of food and the ‘likes’ or ‘shares’ on social media…thank you. We truly appreciate every single one of your donations and kind words.
If you need a food parcel, find out information on how to get one here.
If you would like to become a referral agent, please email [email protected] for more information.
