Mayor officially opens Lisburn’s first foodbank

At the official opening of the new food bank in Kingdom Life City Church are Lisburn Mayor Margaret Tolerton with invited guests and volunteers US4013-404PM Pic by Paul Murphy

The foodbank, which operates under the auspices of the ‘Trussell Trust’, is one of 400 network foodbanks in the UK

Invited guests heard from speakers, including referral agencies, volunteers, church and community representatives and the Tesco Community Champion, about the need for a local foodbank.

Susanne Downey, Northern Ireland Regional Development Officer told how Trussell Trust Foodbanks are designed not only to give three days supply of food to those in short term crisis, but to prevent dependency and help people out of crisis by partnering with and signposting to other agencies able to help solve the root of the problem.

The evening continued with opportunity to ask questions about how people can become involved or access the Foodbank.

The Trussell Trust have a very simple system of operation. Food is collected through a variety of channels (Supermarkets, Schools, Churches, Individuals etc) Vouchers are ‘distributed’ by referral agencies (Doctors, Social Services, CAB, etc) to ensure that the food is given to those who are genuinely in need. Volunteers give of their time to serve at the Food Bank Centre at appointed opening times.

Brian Agnew, chairperson of Lisburn Foodbank concluded with an invitation to front line care professionals to join the growing number of referral agents sign-posting those in short term crisis to the foodbank.

If you would like more details on becoming a volunteer, a referral agency or if you would like to support Lisburn Foodbank financially or assist through your business knowledge or expertise, contact Brian Agnew on 07712 645 444 or email [email protected].

To avail of the services of the foodbank, you can find a listing of referral agencies on the website