Penzance food bank

Customers of food banks are in crisis for many reasons such as shorter working hours, redundancies, unemployment, benefit delays and cuts and debt.

Those who find themselves in immediate need, for whatever reason, can be provided with a week’s supply of goods by the food bank. Customers are referred to the food bank by agencies including Penwith Housing Association, Job Centre, social workers, doctors and schools.

Brenda Fox, Food Bank Coordinator, said: “It is an unfortunate sign of the times that there is such a need for food banks. Even though we have only been up and running for a short time, we have already helped many families and young people in crisis in Penzance.” She continued: “We have received generous supplies thanks to autumn harvest donations but sadly the shelves of food we have now won’t last throughout the winter, so donations are always welcome.”

The food bank is manned by a host of volunteers. The depot has been provided by Penwith Housing Association (PHA) part of Devon & Cornwall Housing group.

Gail Hunt, Chair of PHA board visited the food bank and handed over donations from members of staff at PHA. She said: “A member of our tenants’ committee approached us to see if we might have suitable premises and we have been delighted to help. The storeroom we have provided is easily accessible and we are only charging a peppercorn rent to cover the bills.”

Churches Together in the Penzance Area is an umbrella organisation made up of the various Christian Churches working together. They are pooling resources to respond to the needs of the community. Another food bank has been operating successfully in the Camborne area for the past year.

If you would like to donate any non-perishable food goods to the Penzance Food Bank please use the bins sited in Tesco Store, Penzance or Co-op Store Wherrytown, or contact the Food Bank on 07950159841.