Donation helps food bank support families during summer holidays

A local supermarket has donated food and funding to Westbury’s food bank to help support families facing increased pressure during the summer holidays. 

Westbury Area Network (WAN), which runs the Westbury food bank, received food donations and a £100 voucher from Westbury’s Morrisons store to help boost its supplies during the school holidays. 

Until March, the Government’s Household Support Fund provided food vouchers during school holidays for families who received Free School Meals during term time. The scheme has now ended and been replaced by the Crisis Resilience Fund (CRF), which WAN said has made the holidays more challenging for some families. 

“We’ve recognised that this is a real pinch point for families, and so we’re very grateful to work in partnership with Morrisons and for their kind consideration of our needs and the community,” said WAN trustee Linda Hallowell. 

Morrisons has supported the charity for the past seven years, with WAN volunteers collecting weekly food donations from the store. 

Melissa Griggs, community champion at Westbury’s Morrisons store, said, “They do so well for many people. I’d like to say a thank you to Norman, who’s 87 years old and he’s just literally retired. He has come for the last, I think, possibly six years, collecting it every Wednesday for the Westbury Area Network. 

“We’ve been doing this for the last six to seven years, supporting them and helping them, and helping the community in need.”