Charity pledges £240,000 to help food banks during virus outbreak

The Cadent Foundation fund’s advisory board agreed to fast-track a grant to the Trussell Trust, which supports more than 1,200 food bank centres.

The first transfer of funds was made on Friday, March 20.

Julia Dwyer, director of the Cadent Foundation, said: “Food banks are facing a huge challenge right now, with supplies low and many of their army of volunteers falling into categories that really must self-isolate – just at the time when the need for food bank services is greatest.

“Part of the core mission of our new foundation is to help people living in vulnerable circumstances.

“We had to do something in response to the coronavirus.

“Our advisory board met and unanimously agreed this financial support.”

Sophie Carre, head of corporate partnerships at the Trussell Trust, said: “As the coronavirus pandemic develops, more people than ever may need help from food banks across our network. This presents a huge additional pressure on already overstretched resources.

“We may start to see a reduction in food donations and volunteers may become unavailable if they are in the at-risk categories or are self-isolating.

“It’s hard for us to say exactly what the picture will look like in the coming weeks across the UK as each food bank in our network is a local charity, run by a community for their local community, and each will be affected differently.

“We’re working closely with our network to understand each food bank’s situation, offer guidance, and work out how we can best support them.

We know we won’t be able to do this alone, so we are truly grateful for this support from Cadent Foundation.

Please look at our website to find out more about food banks and coronavirus.”

More information on eligibility and how to apply for grants is at cadentfoundation.com.