A BUSY foodbank in Bangor gearing up for a Christmas rush of people in need has received a welcome boost to their supplies from a business in the town.
Lock Stock Self Storage, who have three sites in Bangor, called in at the Bangor Cathedral Foodbank, in Cathedral Close, with a delivery of pasta, potatoes, sauces, puds and more.
The food bank is open three days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, for an hour each day and staffed for the past 12 years by a dedicated team of over 30 volunteers.
It is tucked away off Cathedral Close in the city and team member Lesley Evans said: “We’re really grateful to Lock Stock for this generous donation at what is our busiest time of the year.
“There has been a big increase in numbers since the pandemic and we do see many refugees coming to us, initially from the Ukraine but increasingly from Asia and Africa.
“We usually provide about 50 food parcels but that will go up at Christmas as people try to treat themselves and their families and perhaps go without food.
“We do find we are seeing more people in work now who simply can’t manage on their wages and also older people as well. It’s awful but it’s a fact of life.
“We are astounded by the figures that show the average person is only two pay cheques away from needing to use a foodbank – that’s how long it takes to exhaust your savings.
“We’re very blessed with donations like this one from Lock Stock and it’s nice to have treats that we can give out to people at this special time of year.”
Lock Stock Area Manager for North West Wales Lee Hanson said: “We do like to get involved with the communities where we operate and it’s our way of saying thank you for their support.
“We have three sites here in Bangor and this is clearly a much-needed service and hopefully Lock Stock will have played a part in bringing some Christmas cheer to local households.
“The team of volunteers here clearly do a fantastic job at what is a very difficult time for so many people and we like to support the community in the places where we are in business whether that’s charities like the Bangor Cathedral Foodbank or local schools and community groups.”
Gillian Slade, a retired dietician, uses her expertise to ensure the food parcels have a nutritious selection of foods and she said: “We organise the packs to provide food for three and a half days.
“The packs are for single people, couples, families with two children under eight and for those with older children and we also cater for vegetarian and other special diets because we have to cater for different ethnicities and religions.
“They include three breakfasts, three lunches and three dinners as well as snacks and drinks and we do try to offer some fresh vegetables and fruit.”
Lock Stock, founded in Denbigh in 1999, is the UK’s largest containerised storage company with almost 4,500 units providing over four million cubic feet of space at 29 storage parks across North and Mid Wales, Shropshire and Merseyside.
The company estimates that 60 per cent of their containers are rented by people moving house or keeping treasured possessions but up to 40 per cent, almost 2,000 of their containers are used by small businesses for storing materials and there is a growing market for students looking to store their possessions.
Lock Stock also specialise in the off-site hire of containers, delivered to your location by their specialist lorry and hired on a month-by-month basis. The containers are 10, 20 and 40 feet in length.
They can also use their lorry to relocate a container, contents and all, to a different Lock Stock site in the event of a house or business move.
For information about Lock Stock Self Storage including off-site container hire contact them on 01745 817178 or go to the Lock Stock website.
For more information about the work of Bangor Cathedral Foodbank, click here.
