Appeal for food and toiletry donations to help people in need

The Rotherham Advertier office on Howard Street is one of the drop-off points for the Food for People in Crisis appeal. Pictured are Andrea Cox, of FiC, and Advertiser office manager Debbie Grainger.

The Food for People in Crisis (FiC) Partnership has launched its annual pre-Christmas appeal for contributions of food and toiletries.

A spokeswoman said: “Whilst most of us will wake up this Christmas to a house full of presents and a table laden with food, some people within our communities face a bleak prospect.

“The rising cost of living, combined with rental increases, stagnant wages and new benefit schemes mean that for some families there will be little food to eat and no gifts to unwrap.

“It’s not only unemployed or homeless people who find themselves in this terrible situation — older people and more working families are finding it increasingly difficult to pay all the bills and still have enough money to put food on the table.

“Insecure or seasonal work, an unexpected expense, illness, or just a change in benefits or circumstances can often tip people into crisis.”

Poorer families are hit hard by covering the cost of lunchtimes usually met with school meals, while treats and festive food are simply unaffordable.

The FiC Partnership is made up of several organisations working across the borough to help people deal with crisis situations by providing them with food parcels to take home or a cooked meal, as well as other support.

Public donation points for non-perishable, in-date, food and toiletry items are now up and running at the Advertiser’s Howard Street office, Aston, Dinnigton, Maltby, Rawmarsh, Swinton, Wickersley and Wath libraries and Aston Park, Dearne, Rotherham and Maltby fire stations, plus Riverside House, the Town Hall, Voluntary Action Rotherham and the Lifewise Centre at Hellaby.

They will be in place until Friday.

Monetary donations can be made by cheque to “People in Need (VAR)” through Voluntary Action Rotherham, The Spectrum, Coke Hill, Rotherham, S60 2HX or by bank transfer to People in Need (VAR) using account number 20298847 and sort code: 60-83-01.

For more information call Andrea Cox on 01709 829821 or email [email protected].