I recently called round to Worcester’s Foodbank. I looked through the roller shutter doors and with a chill I distinctly noticed a difference between this and previous years. Christmas is a time of giving and thinking of people who are less fortunate. Last year I noticed a queue of donated food that had not yet been processed. Sadly, this year I did not see that food.

Demand has gone through the roof. Chatting to the managers, Grahame Lucas and Ruth Allsopp, they told me that food donations are not enough and increasingly they are spending thousands of pounds each week buying in additional food. So, this is a blog for them. (taken by permission from their website)

Never mind a white Christmas.

Here at Worcester Foodbank all we’re dreaming of is a Christmas where no-one in our city goes hungry.

That’s why we’ve unwrapped our festive food shopping list as we brace ourselves for a challenging countdown to Christmas, with an expected record numbers of referrals to us.

We want everyone in crisis that turns to us for help to enjoy a taste of Christmas – whether that’s some stuffing and cranberry sauce or Christmas cake and mince pies.

Our team of little elves will be working their Christmas socks off to make sure we feed thousands of people over the coming weeks.

The most important ingredient remains your generosity.

With demand for food so high, we won’t be running our usual Christmas toy voucher appeal. Instead we’d love you to show your support by either donating some festive food from our list or making a financial contribution.

You can make a donation via the Worcester Foodbank website: https://worcester.foodbank.org.uk