Festive delivery for Foodbank

A festive fund-raiser that quickly outstripped the organiser’s expectations has made a major contribution to Grantham Foodbank’s supplies.

When Jeanette Maddison, a Business Support Officer at South Kesteven District Council, set out to raise enough money to provide 200 chocolate Advent calendars for needy children, she had no idea that there would be so much support from colleagues.

With more than £1,000 eventually being raised through a raffle backed by businesses in and around Grantham and sales of her homemade Christmas chocolate tiffin, Jeanette has also been able to deliver £250-worth of essential items to the Foodbank.

Another Foodbank donation will be made in the New Year and there will also be support for the BHive mental health community group in Grantham, and Grantham Passage, a charity that provides a free, freshly cooked meal every day of the year for those who attend its venues.

Jeanette said: “There was an absolutely fantastic response and I’m delighted that I’ve been able to help many more people than originally expected.”

In November alone, Grantham Foodbank provided 6,165 meals, and in the year to the end of November it had distributed 68 tonnes of food.

“Without donations like that from Jeanette we would not be able to do what we do,” said Foodbank co-ordinator Dorothy Gaughan. “We are very grateful for all the donations we receive, large or small.

“The meals we provide are a lifeline to those people who have no food and no means of buying food because of the situation they find themselves in.”