New home celebration for Heywood Foodbank

The Heywood Foodbank has moved home to the ground floor of Heywood Baptist Church on Chapel Street.

First set up in 2013 at St Joseph’s Church, the Heywood Foodbank then operated from premises kindly donated by Kavanagh and Coates, before moving to Adelaide Street, Heywood, beneath the doctor’s surgery.

Volunteers kept the foodbank running from there throughout the worst of the Covid pandemic. But conditions were cramped and the foodbank, managed by the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, has been seeking a new home for some time.

On Friday 6 October, Bishop John Arnold, Bishop of Salford Diocese, joined volunteers, donors and foodbank customers at the new premises to celebrate the foodbank’s work and to thank all involved.

Bishop Arnold said: "I am very pleased to come to Heywood and thank the very dedicated group who have kept the foodbank going through difficult times. People from many different backgrounds have worked together to combat poverty and hunger, week in, week out. Their resilience and enduring kindness are a testament to the strength of Heywood’s community and a sign of hope for the future."

Ann Noonan, the foodbank organiser and treasurer, said: "People in Heywood have been very generous in donating money and food to the foodbank. This has enabled us to keep providing a service to those most in need and to move to larger premises. We are all so grateful for their continuing support."

Pastor Justin Kennedy from Heywood Baptist Church added: "With some vacant space in our building we were able to offer the foodbank a new home. It’s a good example of churches working together to help people in need, so vital in current times."

 

 

Heywood Foodbank

Heywood Foodbank at Chapel Street is open every Monday and every Friday from 10am until 12noon. It provides food parcels and some household toiletries for both individuals and families. Up to 90 families and other people use the foodbank each week. The foodbank is staffed entirely by volunteers.

Financial donations can be made via JustGiving.

Food donations are best dropped off at the foodbank during the opening hours indicated above or left at local supermarkets.

To contact the foodbank via Facebook: www.facebook.com/SupportHeywoodFoodbank/