WORCESTER Foodbank is on the move after successfully ending its two year search for a new home.
Rising demand for emergency food has forced the foodbank to swap its increasingly cramped premises on Carden Close for a much larger warehouse in Lowesmoor Wharf.
The move will also allow the charity to house a job club, debt counselling support and Baby Basics service, providing essentials like baby clothes to help struggling parents get back on their feet.
Grahame Lucas, Worcester Foodbank manager, said: “Emergency food is often just a sticking plaster and it doesn’t address the underlying causes of food poverty.”
“That’s why we are delighted our new premises will provide us with enough space to offer a wide range of services that address the root causes of hunger, so people no longer have to rely on emergency aid.”
Volunteers have helped to provide more than 15,600 three day emergency food parcels – including about 5,000 for children – since food bank opened its doors on Carden Close in June 2012.
But with demand for emergency food expected to soar by as much as 25 per cent in 2016, the need to move had grown increasingly urgent.
Emma Schoolar, Regional Development Officer for the Trussell Trust, said: “Worcester Foodbank is already a very well run project providing a vital lifeline for local people in crisis. I am really pleased to be working with them as they embark on this exciting new stage.”
“The move will allow them to develop their services even further to tackle the underlying causes of foodbank use and support people as they move forward from the life shock that brought them to the foodbank.”
Foodbank is now appealing for donations to help it raise enough funds to replace old shelving and crates and install a disabled toilet for clients.