Banbury area business centre launches food drive to help people struggling with food essentials

Pictured: Emma McGregor and Noelle Knight with Bloxham Mill Business Centre, who is hosting a food drive

With many people struggling to provide for their families, Bloxham Mill Business Centre is calling on generous business owners and the community to help people struggling with food essentials across the county by organising a local food drive.

Some 700,000 UK households used a food bank in the year prior to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a study on food poverty.

Between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021, food banks in the Trussell Trust’s UK wide network distributed 2.5 million emergency food parcels to people in crisis, a 33 per cent increase on the previous year - 980,000 of these went to children.

The Bloxham Mill Business Centre food drive will begin on Monday May 24 considering World Hunger Day - an initiative celebrating sustainable solutions to hunger and poverty.

People are being asked to drop off non-perishable food items during office hours (9am - 5pm) Monday to Friday, until June 30. Donations will then be passed to Banbury Foodbank.

Sarah Williams, manager of Banbury Foodbank, said: “We don’t think anyone in our community should have to face going hungry. Our food bank relies on goodwill and support, so we are grateful to Emma and the team at Bloxham Mill for organising a local food drive. Big or small, every gift you give helps transform lives.”

Banbury foodbank is part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust. A food parcel provides three days of nutritionally balanced, non-perishable food. As well as cupboard staples, right now the food bank is in urgent need of long-life juice, long-life milk, rice, curry and Chinese sauces, baby formula and larger nappies.

Emma McGregor, commercial director of Bloxham Mill Business Centre, said: “Oxfordshire is one of the best places to live and work in the UK, so nobody in our community should have to face the struggle of putting food on the table.

"We are asking business owners and residents to buy just one or two extra items with their weekly food shop and drop them off to us here in Bloxham. Together we can stop others in our local community going hungry”.

Bloxham Mill Business Centre is a stone’s throw from Banbury town centre and the M40 junction 11, offering ample free parking for people to drop-off their donations with ease. Having recently undergone a major refurbishment, Bloxham Mill provides a fresh new concept of office, co-working, meeting, and networking facilities, to help businesses at different life stages thrive.

For more information on the food drive, including days and times to make drop-offs or a list of items needed, contact the team at Bloxham Mill on 01295 722800, or follow the Business Centre on Facebook.com/bloxhammill for updates.