Caistor Food Bank sees spike in donations after Lincolnite story

Caistor Food Bank is working hard to help local people in need in the run up to Christmas, and is delighted to have seen a recent spike in food and financial donations after coverage in The Lincolnite.

The Lincolnite reported last month that volunteers at the food bank were urgently appealing for donations.

They helped 1,500 adults and 920 children since opening inside the Methodist Church Hall on Chapel Street in February this year.

Brian Milne, who manages to food bank with his wife Sue, said that they received a donations as a result of the article from people wanting to make sure their clients had food over the festive holidays, including £500 from Market Rasen Rotary Club.

The club’s president David Mason, secretary Joseph Bowman, and community service chair Malcolm Simpson met with the food bank’s managers to hand over the cheque, to help them continue their good work.

Councillor Steven Critten, of Caistor Town Council, donated £150 for the purchase of a gammon joint to be used in each food parcel. Fellow councillor Stephen Hodson donated £250 to help ensure all the food bank’s clients have enough food for Christmas.

Kate Hills, the pastor from Springs Church in Caistor, donated some desserts, North Kelsey Primary School gave food leftovers from a recent party, while the local Lincolnshire Co-op community champion will be donating wrapped up brand new toys, so the food bank’s clients all have something to open on Christmas Day.

Brian & Sue Milne going out to deliver food to the food bank’s elderly & disabled clients.

Brian, who is part of a team of 25 volunteers at the food bank, told The Lincolnite: “We were delighted to receive this donation from Market Rasen Rotary Club. Our trustees have decided to give all our clients a Christmas food parcel with these funds so all our clients receive a nice Christmas food parcel from Caistor Food Bank.

“I would like to say a massive thank you to Market Rasen Rotary Club along with Kate Hills from Springs Church, North Kelsey Primary School, Councillor Steven Critten & Councillor Stephen Hodson from Caistor Town Council for all the very kind donations.

“We’ve had a number of donations from residents where members of the public have walked in and made individual donations to us, which is brilliant because before we were really struggling.”

The Caistor Food Bank liaises with similar organisations in Immingham, Brigg, and Market Rasen, supporting families not just in Caistor but also in the surrounding villages.

People can bring in donations during the food bank’s opening hours or put them in the allocated baskets at the Lincolnshire Co-op stores in Caistor and Keelby.

People can self-refer to the food bank with a few bits of qualifying paperwork, or be referred via social services, GPs, schools, housing associations, or many other partnership organisations.

Caistor Food Bank is run by a team of 25 volunteers.

Caistor Food Bank is open between 11am and 2pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but can take emergency food parcels when required outside of these hours.

During the festive period, the food bank is only closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. It is open between those dates on December 29 between 11am until 2pm.

Anyone requiring emergency food parcels outside the food bank’s opening hours should call 0771 4624608, except for on December 25-26 and 31, and January 1 where it will be a voicemail service only.

Food donations

Food donations are needed now more than ever, with a definite need for tinned, longer shelf-life, items such as:

• Tinned vegetables
• Tinned potatoes
• Tinned sandwich meats
• Toilet rolls
• Tinned tomatoes
• Tinned ravioli
• Tinned hot dogs
• Biscuits
• Crisps
• Dilutable squash
• UHT Milk
• Butter/margarine