Rotarians from Rotary District 1100, which covers Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, Bristol and surrounding districts, along with Rotary District 1100 eClub, are visiting the Trussell Trust HQ in Salisbury on Saturday 3 August to find out how they can help with the trust’s network of foodbanks. Up to 100 Rotarians and guests are expected to attend the event, which will include assisting with packing food and sharing a community picnic with trust members.
Rotary clubs in Great Britain and Ireland have been working with the Trussell Trust and other foodbank organisations for many months, whether simply bringing along a tin or helping out with transport and packing. In July, the Rotary Club of The City & Shoreditch participated in collecting food for the trust at Tesco in Essex, filling six trolley loads in just two hours.
Mukesh Malhotra, Chairman of the RIBI Community Service Committee said: “Foodbanks are providing an ever important source of local community support to people in need during the current economic climate. The need is also acute worldwide and Rotary International has already established a partnership with the Global FoodBanking Network. So we are hoping that the event will enable us to forge greater links with the trust and motivate other Rotary clubs in Great Britain and Ireland to work with its foodbanks to help alleviate deprivation in local communities.”
Mark Ward from the Trussell Trust commented: “Foodbanks are community driven, which is why they continue to meet an ever increasing need. The involvement of Rotary provides many exciting opportunities to develop projects, integrating them further with other community action and within the business community. Foodbanks are capable of doing much more than providing emergency meals because they join people together and this fits very well with the ethos of Rotary."
Foodbanks provide much needed food for people in crisis, assisting those who have a temporary shortfall in money and cannot afford to buy their own. To be assisted by a foodbank, those in need are referred by a professional person who is aware of their situation. People authorised to make referrals include doctors, health visitors, social workers, housing associations, benefit offices and police.
