Biggest Foodbank collection in Chester returns and wants to break its own record

Chester Pride are bringing back their Reverse Advent Calendar for Christmas 2020, after last year saw the biggest single donation of food made to the West Cheshire Foodbank to support families and individuals in crisis.

Last year Chester Pride asked the community to donate an item a day to the campaign, in the lead up to Christmas. This reverse advent calendar of giving items saw more than 2,100 items of food, toiletries, and even treats like selection boxes, donated to support families and individuals who might have otherwise gone hungry. The donations helped many people over Christmas, but also supported people after Christmas for around three months into the new year.

Now, however, Chester Pride is aiming to smash their own record, and raise more than ever for the Foodbank, especially as the demands of the charity have grown as more people face poverty and crisis due to the effects of the Coronavirus. To help Chester Pride achieve their ambitious aim, they have already secured generous support from their sponsors Bank of America, who have agreed to match the items donated, meaning that whatever amount is donated is already guaranteed to be doubled.

More businesses have also come on board to support the Foodbank campaign, meaning there will be more donation points across the city, making it even easier to donate your reverse advent calendar items. Donations will be collected at The Liverpool Arms, Mecca Bingo, The Victoria Inn, Commercial Bar & Hotel, Oddfellows Arms, Printworks Chester, GHR Training, Just Cuts, Chester Market, Storyhouse and Brio Leisure venues.

If you don’t feel comfortable donating at a collection point, ABC Taxis Chester have generously agreed to collect any donations from your doorstep. Simply ring 01244 434343 and leave your items in bags on your doorstep, and the taxi will pick it up! Or if you happen to be using a taxi, you can give the items to your driver. We Love Good Times Chester are also supporting the campaign, and will be working with their members and network of local independent traders to promote the campaign, and possibly add even more collection points to make it even easier to donate items.

Donations can be made between the 1^st November, and the 15^th December, and Chester Pride ask that all items donated should be non-perishable, such as tins and dried goods like pasta, alcohol free, and in date. You can even donate £10 supermarket gift cards that can be used by the Foodbank to top up on items they run low on. If you don’t know what to donate then Chester Pride has a full Reverse Advent Calendar of items, with a different item to donate each day. This list was put together by the West Cheshire Foodbank and shows what they are most in need of.

Talking about running the Reverse Advent Calendar again this year the chair of Chester Pride, Warren Lee Allmark, said “After the recent government announcement regarding footballer Marcus Rushford’s plea, it’s become much more apparent that Foodbank demand is, sadly, greater than ever before due to the pressure families are facing from Covid-19. It’s important that as one of Chester’s largest community events, Chester Pride uses our platform to be the voice of those in need of the West Cheshire Foodbank. This is an issue that effects our LGBT+ community, but also the wider community, and we are happy to support the amazing work West Cheshire Foodbank do in supporting families and individuals.

We would like to thank our amazing sponsors, particularly Bank of America who will match items donated to the campaign, and all the businesses that have agreed to take part as collection points. We would encourage as many people as are able to take part. One tin that can cost as little as 20p can make a huge difference to a person. Last year Chester showed it’s generosity in supporting our campaign, and we hope even more of the city will take part this year and support someone in need this Christmas.”

The collection points, and doorstep collection service from ABC Taxis Chester, will open on the 1^st November until the 15^th December. To find out where the donation points are, and what items the campaign are looking for, you can look at Chester Pride’s social media and their website www.chesterpride.co.uk