£17k funding boost for Larne Foodbank

Larne Foodbank has been awarded a grant of £16,833.96 to help local residents who are in need of support.
(From left) Andy Murray, Asda Chief Customer Officer, Alex Munroe, Secretary at Larne Foodbank, Catherine Mc Callion, Asda Larne Community Champion, Stuart Legge, Asda Larne Store Manager and Joan Irwin, Chairperson at Larne Foodbank(From left) Andy Murray, Asda Chief Customer Officer, Alex Munroe, Secretary at Larne Foodbank, Catherine Mc Callion, Asda Larne Community Champion, Stuart Legge, Asda Larne Store Manager and Joan Irwin, Chairperson at Larne Foodbank
(From left) Andy Murray, Asda Chief Customer Officer, Alex Munroe, Secretary at Larne Foodbank, Catherine Mc Callion, Asda Larne Community Champion, Stuart Legge, Asda Larne Store Manager and Joan Irwin, Chairperson at Larne Foodbank

The foodbank is one of 90 from across the UK which has received a grant from Asda’s Fight Hunger Create Change programme.

The programme is a partnership between the retailer, Trussell Trust and FareShare, which recently marked its one-year anniversary.

The funding boost will enable Larne Foodbank to increase its work in the community.

From supplying emergency food parcels to creating additional storage space, Larne Foodbank will now be able to increase its work to help local people facing poverty.

Chairperson at Larne Foodbank, Joan Irwin, said: “It’s been a vision for Larne Foodbank to have this warehouse and distinct entrance for some time, so receiving this cheque from Asda has been a godsend.

“We can’t thank Asda enough for this generous donation which will be truly life-changing and help us to feed more vulnerable people in our local community.”

Andy Murray, chief customer officer, at Asda, said: “It’s been a year since we launched our partnership with Trussell Trust and FareShare, and I’m incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made to change the face of food poverty in the UK.

“As we move into the second year of our campaign, we’ll continue to provide not just meals for people but support to help them out of poverty, and we thank our customers and colleagues for their ongoing support in our challenge to fight hunger.”

The Trussell Trust’s chief executive, Emma Revie, said: “No-one should need a foodbank’s help. While we work in the long-term to tackle the structural issues that lock people in poverty, foodbanks will be able to provide even more vital support to people referred. We’ve never been in a position to support our network to deliver help to this extent before – the nature of investment is unprecedented. These grants will provide crucial additional resources to foodbanks, increasing the diversity and breadth of the services they can offer people in crisis and tackle the root causes of poverty.”