Plaid Cymru’s Leanne Wood has endorsed a cash injection for a service that provides emergency food to those who cannot afford to feed themselves.
The Cardiff Foodbank has been awarded £50,000 by the Big Lottery Fund to extend its work collecting food donations from the public and distributing it to people in crisis in the Welsh capital.
The foodbank network helps thousands of people fight hunger in Wales every year through its centres in places such as Tylorstown and Pontyclun. Run by the Trussell Trust charity, packages containing three days’ of emergency food are distributed to clients. Over the next few years, they aim to double their provision in order to meet increasing demand.
Ian Purcell from the Cardiff Foodbank said the money would enable them to meet the increasing demand that has been placed on them in recent times.
Of the grant, Mr Purcell added: “It will strengthen and increase our ability to continue to fight hidden hunger and restore hope to people in need.”
Ms Wood, who represents the South Wales Central region in the Welsh Assembly, has repeatedly championed the cause of the Foodbank network in Wales and asked questions in the Senedd about the possibility of funding being provided for it.
Ms Wood said: “I have mixed feelings about the foodbank network because I think it is a sad indictment that it actually exists; that in our modern, developed country there are still people who are unable to feed themselves.
“On the other hand, the need is obviously there and the foodbank network does a fantastic job of providing an essential emergency service, albeit on a voluntary basis.
“The foodbank network is a cause that clearly resonates deeply with a great many people because whenever collections are held for tinned or dried food outside supermarkets, they are usually overwhelmed by the response.
“I hope this significant sum of money from the Big Lottery Fund will help them to carry on with the fantastic work they are doing in Cardiff and extend their reach to those who need the help.”
Ms Wood added: “I’m afraid to say that as a result of the cuts imposed by the current Westminster coalition government, the foodbank network is a service that will come to be relied upon by more and more people every day.”
