Hailsham Foodbank moves into new residence to help deliver Christmas hampers

Wealden District Council, which owns the premises at Vicarage Field, was contacted by the charity to ask if temporary storage facilities were available - the council previously provided the charity with temporary storage last year.

The council has temporarily allowed Hailsham Foodbank into an empty unit in the town centre shopping precinct.

Hailsham Foodbank is part of a nationwide network of foodbanks supported by the Trussell Trust which works to combat poverty and hunger in the UK.

Councillor Kelvin Williams, Alliance for Wealden (Liberal Democrat), and lead councillor for Public Health, Wellbeing and Asset Management, said: “We are thrilled to be able to

provide Hailsham Foodbank with one of our units during this Special season to help with the distribution of food parcels and hampers on the run up to Christmas.

“The work that the team at Hailsham Foodbank does is vital for the communities in Hailsham and surrounding areas when many residents are struggling with the cost-of- living crisis, so we are very happy to have been able to assist them in this small way.”

The team at the foodbank aims to deliver more than 750 Christmas parcels to families in and around Hailsham over the Christmas period and will use the premises until mid- January 2024.

Hailsham Foodbank’s manger, Julie Coates, said: “Unfortunately Christmas can be particularly challenging for people who are already struggling with the costs of increased fuel bills. As the need for our service has increased, particularly with the Cost-of-Living Crisis, our own premises are at capacity so to have this extra space will make it a much better experience for people coming to collect their Christmas parcels. We are very grateful to the team at Wealden for the temporary use of this space.”

The premises in Vicarage Field, Hailsham, are being used by Hailsham Foodbank solely for Christmas distribution use. People are reminded that they must still take their foodbank voucher to the foodbank at 4 Market Square, Hailsham.

For more information about the foodbank, residents can visit – https://hailsham.foodbank.org.uk/