Foyle Food Bank is ‘Community Development of the Year’ winner

Pat Doran, Foyle Foodbank, receives the Community Development of the Year Award from Donna Mattison, APEX, award sponsor, at the Derry Journal People of the Year Awards held recently in the Waterfoot Hotel. Included in the photograph are Adrian Logan, compere, Paul McLean, managing director Bet McLean, principle sponsor and Louise Strain, Derry Journal. DER3619GS 066

Nominated by the Board of Management of Foyle Food Bank, the nomination outlined that the Food Bank has been in operation for just over three years, and in that time “has had a major impact on the lives of people/families who for one crisis reason, or another, find themselves unable to put food on their tables.

“It is sad in many ways to say that the Foyle Food Bank has become a growing indispensable service to needy people within the North West community. However, the Foodbank has had a positive impact on the community as well, in that local people and businesses have all worked together to ensure that people struggling with financial difficulties within the community do not go hungry,” said Denis Mc Gowan, Chairperson.

The Foyle Food Bank exists solely to provide (redirect) emergency food generously donated by the people of the North West area to those individuals and families who are hungry.

“The Foyle Food Banks seems to provide a focal point that galvanises the natural desire of many diverse people, communities and groups to respond to those in need from food poverty. This can be gauged by the many food drives undertaken and organised by schools and colleges, workplaces, bars and community groups at various times of the year, particularly the Christmas period,” he said.

Volunteers staff the Food Bank three days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11am until 3pm, and daily throughout the Christmas period.

The Food Bank manager works in close cooperation with the many and diverse referral agencies that we have enlisted to ensure we can identify and help those less fortunate members of our community who may be a risk of food poverty.

Although the Foyle Foodbank has only been in operation since April 2016, it has already fed a total of 12,204 people from the North West, comprising of 6,919 adults and 5,285 children.

“Food poverty is no respecter of race, colour, creed or age. The Foyle Food Bank and its volunteers along with a sensitive donor community understand that and respond in the only way possible - with practical help in the form of food for the hungry. It is gratifying for the management team at the Foyle Food Bank and an enduring positive consequence of the existence of the Foyle Food Bank that diverse communities from differing backgrounds provide.”

food for anyone in the North West who needs it.”