New foodbank seeks some megabytes as start nears

Volunteers have been busy decorating the basement of the closed Royal British Legion headquarters in Cyprus Road for the start of the service, probably in the middle of the summer.

One of the group organising the service, Chris Aldridge, said: “We are looking for some shelving for storage and two or three computers for administration, for instance for keeping a record of food parcels for security reasons.

“They do not need to be new, as long as they are working, and we would be willing to pay for them.”

Waitrose has promised the food bank £1,000 worth of food to help the start of the service, and continued support afterwards.

More than 70 people came forward to help set up the service, with the help of local churches.

The idea of starting one in the town came from the demand that the Haywards Heath food bank had for help in the Burgess Hill area. The Spire Cafe at St John’s Church in Burgess Hill will be the distribution centre.

One of the members is pictured re-decorating the basement.