Aylesbury Foodbank expands street champion project announcing three new donation locations

Aylesbury Foodbank has announced it is expanding its street champion project creating more donation points for generous residents in the area.

In 2021 the idea was developed from the local street collection run in Ramworth Way.

Andy Rotherham, a Trustee of Aylesbury Foodbank, and his wife Jo started a local collection in 2021 and by the end of that year had already collected 579kg of food.

Next year it was clear that a more permanent all weather collection point for the neighbourhood was required so Andy built a cabinet out of recycled pallet wood and donated roofing felt.

Due to the success of the permanent collection point another five have now been constructed.

At the Ramworth Way Coronation Street Party the five new cabinets were unveiled at an event which the outgoing Aylesbury Town Mayor attended.

Three of the new cabinets have already been allocated to Bedrove, Watermead and Weston Turville, a fourth location is being negotiated, leaving only one unallocated.

Andy said: “The Community has really pulled together to collect food and now to create the cabinets to expand the scheme and encourage further much needed donations to Aylesbury Foodbank.”

Food donated from the project so far was enough to feed 122 families and in 2022 Aylesbury Foodbank collected an amazing 85 tonnes of food, which fed over 9,700 people who would otherwise have had to face going hungry.

However the food bank has confirmed for the first time in 2022, 15 per cent of good used were purchased.

Aylesbury Foodbank Manager, Heather-Joy Garrett, added: “Aylesbury Foodbank has benefited from 2441kg of food so far from this project and Andy and the Ramworth Way community are deserving of an enormous thank you for starting this project.”

Last month the service announced a 37 per cent rise in the number of emergency food parcels it distributed in a 12-month period.

Aylesbury Foodbank is part of the Trussell Trust’s network, which reports record levels of need in the last 12 months with almost 3 million (2,986,203) emergency food parcels provided to people facing hardship between April 2022 and March 2023.