A foodbank has been opened in Hemel Hempstead to help support struggling families and individuals in the area.
The Dacorum Foodbank has been opened after Mayor Cllr Gillian Chapman chose the DENS Action against Homelessness as her charity for the year.
The foodbank, at the Paradise Depot, is part of a Hub to support the homeless and those in financial difficulty.
Care professionals like doctors and social workers give foodbank vouchers to families that need support. The vouchers are then exchanged for three days of food at local distribution centres.
The centres also have staff who can offer a compassionate ear and point families in the direction of help and advice.
Cllr Gillian Chapman said: “There are many reasons why families may need this type of assistance – unemployment, relationship breakdown or even just waiting for a benefit claim.
“The Dacorum Foodbank is a wonderful example of Dacorum’s communities working together to support local people in difficulties. The project is bringing together churches, charities, community groups, schools, and local businesses. It really is a case of Dacorum’s people helping Dacorum’s people.”
The non-perishable food at the centre is all donated by schools, churches, businesses and local residents. Supermarket collections are also held, when volunteers give shoppers a ‘foodbank shopping list’ and ask them to buy an extra item or two for local people in crisis.
The centre is set up by the Trussell Trust, which has a network of over a hundred foodbanks across the UK. The Trust says it is expecting the Dacorum Foodbank in Hemel Hempstead to help over a thousand local families in its first year.