Carlisle Foodbank is a vital lifeline for community ahead of Christmas

Despite facing a slight decrease in numbers from previous months earlier in the year, when the cost of living crisis was in full swing, the dedicated team at the foodbank, located on West Tower Street, remains committed all year round to ensuring that no one in the community goes hungry. 

Manager at Carlisle Foodbank, Stephanie Humes, described the last twelve months as 'full-on'. 

"It's been about 850 people a month for the last couple of months, before that though it was about 1,000 people a month.

"We're working a lot more at the moment with schools, trying to make sure families are feeling looked after.

"There are a lot of families who won't ask for help, and we just want to make sure we are looking after those families and children and make sure everyone is fed," she said. 

With the holiday season quickly approaching, Stephanie said they are seeing a lot more 'new faces' using the service. 

"We're seeing a lot more new faces around this time of year, a lot of families with two, three, and more children but also a lot of families with pets.

"It's the 'furry children' we're helping as well, which we've been doing through donations which is great," she said. 

Volunteers, like retiree Chris Middleton, have played a crucial role in the foodbank's operations.

Chris, who has been dedicating his Mondays for around a year, said: "The uptake has been very pronounced, a lot of people have been coming in and a lot less stock. 

"Once I got into it, the smiles you get when people receive their food is great.

"It's also about being part of a team, we receive donations from Morrisons, Asda and Tesco - knowing you're helping someone have a meal is what it's about. 

"What's been a joy for the volunteers is seeing all the Christmas stuff come in when you know it's going directly to families," he said. 

The spirit of giving has extended beyond individual efforts, as contractors involved in the construction of the Carlisle Southern Link Road joined forces to support Carlisle Foodbank. 

Led by Cumberland Council's main contractor Galliford Try Infrastructure and including local supply chain partners such as WSP, DSD Construction, Peacock Precision Services, Story Contracting, and Cubby Construction, the team not only made generous donations but also pledged time throughout December to volunteer at the foodbank.

Cllr Denise Rollo, Cumberland Council’s Executive Member for Sustainable, Resilient and Connected Places, said: “This has been a tremendous team effort, and we were delighted by the donations that we received from staff and our supply chain to support this worthy cause. 

Carlisle Foodbank billboard on Church Street, Carlisle (Image: Newsquest)

"We take huge pride in building local communities and supporting the needs of local areas wherever we can, so we are pleased to support with this donation and ongoing volunteering from the Carlisle Southern Link Road supply chain," she said. 

Phil Robinson, project director at Galliford Try Infrastructure, said: “At Galliford Try we take our role in society seriously, working hard not only to improve the UK’s built environment but also delivering lasting change for the communities we work in. 

"Social value is incredibly important to the Carlisle Southern Link Road project delivery team and operating under a ‘one team’ ethos, we and our valued supply partners pledged to support Carlisle Foodbank in one of their busiest periods. 

"Many foodbanks are under strain during the winter months, and we felt that this was a great and worthwhile opportunity to support the local community in a meaningful way. 

"We are extremely grateful to be working with a team who support us and share our values," he said. 

Whilst the foodbank does not need new volunteers to join their 'big happy family', they are forever in need of more donations.

"We're running our reverse advent on socials, we are looking for any long-life tinned items, coffee and tea, toiletries, cereals, just the normal items we would put into a bag for somebody," Stephanie said.  

"Those extra Christmas items would be amazing as well, selection boxes, chocolate coins, and the likes - it's always great to give out extra presents at this time of year." 

Last year, the charity teamed up with the BanktheFood free charity-run app to help increase and encourage people to make donations to the food bank.

In its simplest terms, the app sends a push notification of the most needed items every time the food bank runs low on essentials.

As of November, 750 people were using the app to actively make donations. 

You can also find out about well-needed items and avenues for monetary donations via www.carlislefoodbank.org.uk

To donate food, you can leave items at various collection points around Carlisle, including Sainsbury's,  Carlisle East Fire Station, Asda, Carlisle Library, Morrisons and many more. 

If you can donate, get in touch with the foodbank via email at: hello@carlislefoodbank.org.uk