Local charity Fair Frome has urged the community to support the food bank following the recent rise in the cost of living.
At the start of April, the average energy bill for people in England, Scotland and Wales rose by £111, bringing the total to £1,849 per year.
Due to the increase and its potential impact on communities, the month has been branded ‘Awful April’ by the national media. Senior coordinator of Fair Frome, Lenka Grimes, is urging the community to continue donating food and items to the food bank, as more people may need to use the service.
“I wanted to raise the issue of Awful April,” said Lenka at the Annual Town Meeting earlier this month.
“People’s bills have massively risen and, obviously, Universal Credit and other benefits are not going to be raised that much. I wanted to put it out there to the community that this is going to have an impact on Fair Frome, so we are just asking for people to donate as much as possible and help going forwards. I also want to thank Frome Town Council for all their support.”
Fair Frome donation points are located in Sainsbury’s, Asda, Lidl, Tesco Express, Co-op Fromefield, Co-op Badcox, Howden Insurance on Catherine Street, Coventry Building Society, Frome Wholefoods and the Cheese and Grain.
Most recently, Lenka officially opened the new PureGym in Wessex Fields, which also has a donation point.
To keep up to date with urgent food bank needs, scan the QR code or download the free Bank the Food app to your phone. To make a financial donation, visit https://localgiving.com/charity/fairfrome.
For more information, visit www.fairfrome.org or call 07714 587129.