Inspiring Business by Sharing Success

Food bank demand continues to soar as Gillotts donates £2,500 to help ease the strain

Food bank demand continues to soar as Gillotts donates £2,500 to help ease the strain

A Nottinghamshire funeral firm has stepped in to help local families beat the cost-of-living-crisis by handing over the proceeds of its Christmas remembrance appeal to food banks.

Gillotts Funeral Directors has given £2,500 to five organisations serving communities in Eastwood, Selston, Stapleford, Heanor and Brinsley after running the appeal throughout December.

The company holds the appeal every year to bring families who have lost loved ones during the year together by inviting them to leave a message of remembrance on the branches of Christmas trees installed at each of its offices.

Gillotts, which is based in Nottingham Road, put aside £1 for every label that was left and visitors were also welcome to make their own donations, as well as leave bags of groceries for the food banks as well.

It is the fifth time the firm has supported food banks, with Joanne Hutsby, a partner in the firm, saying it is once again committed to helping local families.

She said:

“We have been holding our Christmas tree appeal for about 20 years now and we used to choose a different charity every year.

“However, when we decided to support local food banks a few years ago, it struck a chord with our staff and we have donated the proceedings to them every year since.

“I don’t think anybody would have expected food banks to be anything but a temporary measure, but we are proud to support them again and we hope they will be able to use the money to help ease the burden for local families.”

Chris Tomlinson, who has managed the Tin Hat Centre Food Bank in Selston, says the organisation is busier than ever and has increased its opening times from one day a week to five days a week over the past two years.

It is run by 25 regular volunteers alongside nine part-time staff and serves around 300 local households, handing out food and other necessary items.

Chris said:

“Demand for food banks is growing, as are the costs of running them, so any help we get with donations is unbelievably welcome.

“People are unable to buy food and pay their gas and electric bills, so we try and help in any way we can. We hand out food parcels on a fortnightly basis, consisting of two or three bags of ingredients people can use to make several meals.

“I’ve never seen it as busy as this and we’re getting about five new referrals every week. Some of them are emergency one-offs but some of them become regulars. People are really struggling out there.”

Another local food bank which has benefitted from a £500 donation from Gillotts is the Brinsley Food Bank, based at the parish centre in Cordy Lane and operates every Wednesday from 10am to 11.45am.

Liz Williamson, the food bank’s manager, said:

“We hand out about 20 food parcels every week and serve Brinsley and the surrounding villages, like Jacksdale and Westwood, which goes to show that there are households struggling in areas that people might consider to be affluent.

“The food bank started out during Covid and everyone assumed it would be a temporary thing but it’s grown and grown ever since and the demographic of people who use us has changed during that time too.

“We’ve gone from mainly families with children to single people now who are struggling to make ends meet and pay their bills. The £500 will really help us to buy products like milk, biscuits and tinned meat like stewing steak, which we don’t get donated to us anymore because the cost of it has gone through the roof.”

The other food banks to receive money from Gillotts’ Christmas appeal are the Eastwood Volunteer Bureau’s Food Bank, which serves Eastwood and Kimberley, the Haven Church and Community Centre in Wadsworth Road, Stapleford, and Salcare, which is based in Ray Street, Heanor, across the border in Derbyshire.

For more information visit www.gillotts.co.uk


< Back