Maidenhead Rotary Club has presented Foodshare with a donation of £2,200. Pictured are Rotarian Janet Perry, Foodshare trustee Debbie Gee and Rotary Club President Mary Spinks.
| Children who are missing out on free school meals during the summer holidays have received a welcome boost from Maidenhead Rotary Club. President Mary Spinks presented a donation of £2,200 to Maidenhead Foodshare to help fund its Holiday Hunger project, which provides struggling families with extra food to make up for the loss of school meals during the break – a situation made even worse by the cost of living crisis. The money was raised at this year’s Open Gardens Weekend run by Maidenhead Rotary Club in June that saw hundreds of people visit more than 20 gardens which had opened their gates to the public in aid of charity. On Saturday Mary and Open Gardens organiser Janet Perry visited Foodshare’s base of operation in the former Tesco store in the Nicholsons Centre to hand over the donation. The money will be used to buy fresh fruit and vegetables for the families supported by the initiative. Foodshare is one of the biggest independent foodbanks in the country. It currently helps about 450 individuals and families a week with a range | of services including distributing food and providing meals for the homeless and vulnerable. Trustee Debbie Gee said: “This generous donation from Rotary will be a big help during the school holidays when families have to find the extra meals their children would get at school. It will enable us to buy more fresh fruit and vegetables for them.” President Mary added: “I am both shocked and delighted – shocked at the number of people having to use a food bank and delighted that Debbie and her volunteers have risen to the challenge to help them and our donation will support this. That there is the need for a project called Holiday Hunger in our Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a disgrace.” The visit has left the Rotary club even more determined to support the charity. Janet said: “I am so pleased that Maidenhead Foodshare was one of the main beneficiaries of the Rotary Open Gardens Weekend this year and we are already looking to support them again at next year’s event on the weekend of June 24-25.” |