FOUNTAIN COURT FUNDRAISER FOR FOODBANK

RESIDENTS of Fountain Court will be holding an Autumn Fayre to raise much-needed funds to support the Westbury foodbank. The event will take place on Wednesday 26th October at the Baptist Church, West End, between 10am and 12pm. 

Items on sale will include homemade cards, cakes, toys and books. The entrance fee of £1 includes a cup of tea or coffee and biscuits.  

Residents of the retirement housing complex already make regular contributions to the foodbank and one resident, Sally Lawrence, is also a volunteer for the charity. They wish to encourage other local people to contribute to the foodbank, which is run by Westbury Area Network (WAN), and donate to help others. 

Volunteer with the foodbank

Sally was one of the foodbank’s very first volunteers and still regularly attends the foodbank to volunteer her services every Monday and Thursday .  

Sally explained, “I moved to Westbury about five years ago and I got involved in a few different volunteer organisations, but I quickly realised that retail wasn’t for me, so I looked for other ways to help that would suit me and the foodbank seemed ideal! 

“I’ve been volunteering for two years now, and I couldn’t recommend it more – you really do make a difference and right now people need all the help they can get. This is a hard time for us all, but it’s the people at the very end of the scale that will feel the hardships the most. 

“I’m 81 now, so I hope I can keep this going for a few more years, but it would be great to get some help with what we do. The main thing we do here is pack boxes with food for our clients with the usual things (mostly tins, dried foods and toiletries) and it doesn’t take that long at all, and we are usually only there for a couple of hours. People can help as much or as little as they like, we’re very flexible. 

“This would be the perfect role for someone recently retired who is looking to do something constructive and help others, or simply for people who have a couple of hours free each week, that want to make a difference to the local community.” 

To access the food parcels at the food bank you must first be referred to the organisation through either Crosspoint in the town centre, churches, schools, the White Horse Medical Centre, or through Wiltshire Council.  

If you would like to donate to the food bank then you can drop off items via All Saints Church, Crosspoint or directly to the Westbury Community Project. The food bank’s Facebook page is updated regularly to reflect the items most in need and details will appear in the White Horse News too. 

The Community Fridge, which is also available to all with the aim of reducing food waste to landfill, can be found at the Westbury Community Project on Eden Vale Road. For opening times please visit the website: www.westburyareanetwork .org  

For more information on supporting the food bank and community fridge, please contact www.westburyareanetwork.org or visit www.facebook.com /WestburyAreaNetwork