Hundreds of boxes packed with festive treats have been donated to Durham Foodbank by generous council staff to help make sure no-one goes hungry this Christmas.
Over the last few weeks, staff from Durham County Council have been bringing in items which will be used by the foodbank to create special Christmas hampers.
Pamela Glaister, senior enforcement officer at Durham County Council, has helped with the collection for a number of years and this week donated approximately 140 selection boxes on behalf of the planning and highways teams.
“Children are the innocent ones and simple selection boxes are something we take for granted at Christmas but are not always a necessity for families in need,” she said.
“It seemed a simple task to donate them for the children to help bring a smile to their faces and some normality to their Christmas day. We also want to say a special thank you to Wilko’s in the Arnison Centre for providing us with a special discount, meaning we could buy even more selection boxes for the children.”
The boxes from County Hall were passed by Cllr Jane Brown, Cabinet member for social inclusion to Peter MacLellan, CEO of Durham Christian Partnership which facilitates the foodbank.
“Christmas is a time for celebration but not everyone can enjoy the kind of things we take for granted,” she said.
“I haven’t heard of any other local authorities in the North East doing this – it’s a great thing to do and buying an extra item when we do our shopping isn’t a huge burden for most people.
“We are delighted to be able to give these boxes to the foodbank to help make Christmas a little bit brighter for those who might be having a difficult time.”
Peter MacLellan said: “December is a busy time for the foodbank and we know a lot of families struggle throughout the month.
“These hampers can make a real difference to people over the festive period and we are extremely grateful to staff at Durham County Council for their generous donation.”
Taylor Shaw – Durham County Council’s primary school meal supplier – also donated 40 tins of chocolates, tea bags and coffee while food supplier Batleys contributed 240 cans of tinned rice pudding and cartons of orange juice.
Collections will continue until January 19 2018 when any remaining items will be passed over to the foodbank.