Reverse Advent Calendar

A big thankyou to everyone at St Andrew's who took on the challenge of collecting suggested items or making cash gifts through Advent which has enabled us to give a really helpful donation, in cash, goods and foodstuffs to Bedford Foodbank. I know that thanks have been expressed via the weekly email and I have been holding off writing this Blog until I received the official 'Thankyou' from the Food bank. Their letter is printed in full below and I will also post this on the Mission and Outreach noticeboard in the corridor.

19th January 2023 To The Congregation of St Andrew’s Church, Many thanks to everyone at St Andrew’s Church for your donation of £300 and supporting Bedford Foodbank’s Reverse Advent Calendar Appeal with 485.14kg of food which will provide 1155 meals. Any donations we receive we are always very grateful for and never more so than in these current challenging times. Regular donations, such as yours, are vital to the on-going provision of food for those in our community who are in such great need. The need for help from the Foodbank continues to increase year upon year and we now regularly feed around 1900 people a month, giving them enough food for 3-4 days, or around 10 meals. The monthly food leaving our warehouse is generally in the region of 18 -20 tonnes, so we are very grateful for all donations we receive as each one is vital for the ongoing work of the Foodbank, and is greatly appreciated. During 2022, 185,079 tonnes of food were given out, 8644 vouchers were redeemed, 19628 people were fed, of which 6813 were children. Without the support of individuals, organisations, and communities, Bedford Foodbank could not meet the increasing need in Bedford and the surrounding villages. Thank you all once again, for your support on behalf of everyone who uses, works, or volunteers at the foodbank. Yours sincerely, Andrea Badman Assistant Project Manager Bedford Foodbank

A display of goods collected in the Reverse Advent Calendar appeal before being taken to the Foodbank depot ready for distribution.