North Guildford Food Bank’s fundraising campaign
North Guildford Food Bank’s fundraising campaign launches with support of leading singer & songwriter, Liz Simcock.
North Guildford Food Bank, which was established in 2012 to provide urgent assistance to local people in crisis, is launching a fundraising campaign to address the increasing surge in demand.
Leading singer & songwriter, Liz Simcock, has pledged her support with a concert at Holy Trinity Church in the High Street on Saturday 13th July at 7.30pm.
Performing as part of the Guildford Fringe Festival, the concert is an opportunity to raise awareness of the need, and also raise funds from the proceeds of the ticket sales. Liz Simcock is one of the country’s finest singer/songwriters and her highly personal autobiographical songs are injected with poetry, emotion and splashes of humour.
The Food Bank, which is based at St Clare’s church in Park Barn, has been helping individuals and families in need for the last decade. However, it has noticed a sharp increase in need over the last few months as people struggle with the cost of living crisis.
In February, The Trussell Trust, the UK charity which campaigns to stop food hunger, conducted YouGov research which highlighted that 780,000 people claiming Universal Credit have been forced to use food banks (Dec 23/24) and more than half (55%) ran out of food in the last month and couldn’t afford more. In the last three months, 22% of people claiming Universal Credit were unable to cook hot food as they couldn’t afford to use their oven or other utilities. Whilst Guildford is seen as an affluent town, there are pockets of deprivation and need which can often go unseen.
One very grateful recipient of food parcels wrote to the Food Bank recently: “I collected my first food parcel today after having to give up my job to care for my son who has health issues. Being a single mum and generally not being able to cope financially, food has become a luxury. Tonight we are both going to bed with full stomachs for the first time in what feels like forever… I honestly cannot thank you all enough and all the people who have donated food also. The volunteers were so all incredibly kind and made a situation which brings out a lot of feelings of shame and failure SO much easier.”
Volunteer and concert organiser, Melanie Simcock, says, “We are very thankful for the donations of food we receive via contributions at local super-markets, churches, schools and other local organisations and from individuals as well as those who make financial donations to us. Sadly however we are finding for the first time that the need is outstripping the supply. The concert will help us raise valuable funds to support our work and will also help raise awareness of the need that exists in the town.”
The Food Bank not only provides a warm welcome for those collecting food parcels, but also delivers to those who are housebound. Clients often face a myriad of complex needs, and the volunteers are able to help signpost clients to other support.
Tickets for the concert are on sale now via the Guildford Fringe Festival Box Office:
guildfordfringefestival.com/events/liz-simcock-in-concert-all-proceeds-to-north-guildford-food-bank/
For those unable to attend, or wishing to support, donations can be made directly to the Guildford Food Bank:
