Brackley woman takes on 2021K walking challenge to help area food bank

Leonie Beck has launched a 2021K walking challenge to benefit the Brackley area food bank. (photo during the challenge in April)

Leonie Beck started the massive challenge of walking 2021K to benefit the Brackley Food Bank.

She said: "I've never really walked much before. I have a really busy schedule.

"In December I heard a lot of people had been made redundant and a lot of people needed food.

Leonie Beck has launched a 2021K walking challenge to benefit the Brackley area food bank. (Photo during the challenge in March)

"When we think of the food bank bank we usually only think of a couple of tins so I called them.

"I just thought everybody had such an awful 2020, and how can I help and give back to the community."

Leonie decided to launch the challenge of walking 2021K before the end of October.

She started the challenge, and rain or sunshine, cold or hot she's been out braving the elements walking around Brackley and its surrounding villages every day this year since January - with only a few days missed from when she wasn't well.

Leonie Beck has launched a 2021K walking challenge to benefit the Brackley area food bank. (photo during the challenge earlier this month)

As of yesterday, Wednesday June 23, she had walked 1272.90K.

She set up a GoFundMe fundraising web page with a target of raising £2021 for the food bank. She has raised £1,180 so far towards her target.

Anyone who would like to contribute to the 2021K walking challenge can use the following web link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/leoniefoodbankA volunteer who works with the Brackley Food Bank said: "the money Leonie raises will be a massive help to us to help those facing difficulties in Brackley and the surrounding villages, as we are increasingly having to buy more and more food items as need is outstripping donations at the moment."

Leonie will be the first to admit sometimes walking every day has not been easy.

She added: "Each step I teak I just think that's one more step for the charity.

"I know that raising money will help the food bank buy essential food. It saddens me to see how the numbers have doubled as more people are being impacted by Covid-19 with job losses and furlough leaving families struggling to find money to buy enough food. We have all seen the headlines regarding school meals, but it's easy to forget for a lot of these children that is the only balanced meal they will get.

"In the first six months of the pandemic, some food banks in the United Kingdom gave out a staggering 1.2 million emergency food parcels. That’s one food parcel every 13 seconds, and 2,600 of these went to children every day on average.

"Every penny helps put food on the table and allowing families to try not stress financially or have to choose between food and heating. So please consider donating to a worthy cause."