Foodbank chosen as Ryemarket's good cause for 2013 (From Stourbridge News)

Foodbank chosen as Ryemarket's good cause for 2013

9:00am Monday 4th March 2013 in Local

BLACK Country Foodbank, which provides food for the young, elderly, single people and families in hardship, has been selected as a Stourbridge shopping centre’s chosen charity for 2013.

The Ryemarket will top up the organisation’s coffers and help raise its profile in as many ways as possible during 2013.

Foodbank founder Wendy Fryatt said she was delighted they had been chosen.

She said: “It’s absolutely amazing and it will do so much to help raise our profile and hopefully help us raise more donations and recruit more volunteers.”

Stourbridge organisations were invited to make their case to The Ryemarket for extra funding, explaining their plans and how they would benefit from the shopping centre’s help.

More than a dozen organisations submitted applications and centre manager Kelley Dyas said there were several outstanding candidates.

But it was felt Foodbank was the most deserving as it helps people all ages and all backgrounds from across Stourbridge who would otherwise go hungry.

The group started in Stourbridge in 2006 and its longest serving distribution centre is at St John’s Church from where people in crisis can collect food on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

It has delivered more than 280,000 meals since its formation.

The group issues food vouchers to organisations that encounter people in hardship and they in turn visit one of its distribution points to exchange vouchers for food.

The food, all unperishable, is acquired though donations to its warehouse, distribution points and collections by volunteers from supermarkets, churches, schools and surplus food direct from food producers.

Foodbank has 35 volunteers working out of its headquarters at Halesowen and has ten branches, including Stourbridge, and each branch has about 12 helpers.