‘We want to take the pressure off’: Northampton food bank inundated with referrals for Christmas gift appeal

A Northampton food bank has been inundated with referrals for its second annual Christmas gift appeal for children.

Re:Store food bank, in Sheep Street, has been supporting families throughout the pandemic by providing food parcels and more.

Now the team of volunteers and staff want to take the pressure off parents by supplying them with brand new gifts for children up to the age of five, as they did last year when they launched their Christmas gift appeal for the first time.

Organiser, Hannah Osborne, said: “Loads of families use the food bank at Christmas and we have loads of food donations, which is great but obviously families are under pressure to get gifts for kids too.

“We want to take that pressure away by giving out brand new gifts.

“The appeal was really popular last year so we really wanted to do it again this year.

In 2019, around 170 gifts were donated and given out to families who needed them most.

Within 24 hours of the appeal going live this year, the charity had received 30 referrals.

Since then, they have been inundated with requests, but Hannah also says the response from the public has been great and they have lots of presents piling up.

She added: “Schools are doing an amazon job supporting families who are struggling, but there are families who still fall through the gaps.

“People are desperate to have a nice Christmas, especially this year, but it is a hard time of year for families.

“We’ve had some many more coming through the food bank as people have lost their jobs and they’ve got the kids at home for longer so costs go up.

“So if we can give out brand new gifts for children who believe in Santa and expect a present, it takes the pressure off the parents.”

Last year, the appeal involved members of the public buying whatever they wanted to donate and dropping the gift off at Re:Store.

However, due to restrictions this year, an Amazon wishlist has been set up.

There are toys, dolls, books, pyjamas, duvet sets and more on the list, ranging in price from £3 to £20.

Donors can buy an item and it will be sent straight to the food bank, where volunteers will put presents into age appropriate gift bags ready to send out to those who have been referred.

“In previous years, we have done a reverse advent calendar where people collect food for us, but we aren’t doing that this year,” Hannah continued.

“If people want to support us this year, please pick something from the wishlish as it is the best way to support us.”

Presents need to be bought and delivered to the charity by December 14 in order for the gifts to be sent to the right people. Any gifts that are late will be handed out in the new year as part of the usual food bank service.

Search Restore Northampton on Facebook to find out more about the appeal.

The Amazon wishlist can also be found here.

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