Here at Leyland Food Bank we offer a regular weekly service, supplying food on a temporary basis for those who have fallen on unfortunate circumstances. Under the present system of social provision, there are many reasons why people need our services. The sick and disabled and mentally ill are often misdiagnosed as fit for work under the testing system, and although 65% of the mistakes are corrected on appeal, that still leaves people with no income in the meantime. Similarly, the unemployed can be subjected to unfair sanctions, where they are left with no money at all for four weeks or more. And not many people are aware that should you lose your job, you are not entitled to any benefits for a full six weeks afterwards.

We try and provide at least a minimum safety net during those periods. Our users are entitled to one food parcel a week, and we try and make that a minimum of at least 8 non-perishable food items, which if nothing else staves off the worst of the hunger.

Our users are generally referred to us by Social Services, and we also work closely with the St Vincent de Paul Society, and each new user is offered a home visit by the SVP, to assess their personal circumstances and see what other help or assistance they may require.

We rely entirely on donations to supply our services. We have weekly collections in local churches, and we have collection points in the local Morrisons and Tesco supermarkets. We also rely quite heavily on cash donations, since the food donations rarely cover the demand, and we have to buy food in on a regular basis. There are no overheads or expenses at Leyland Food Bank. St Marys Priory donates all the facilities, and we are all unpaid volunteers. This means every single penny donated gets spent directly on providing food to the needy. In that sense it is the purest form of charity. If you feel able to help on a one-off or especially a regular basis, any and all donations will be very gratefully received. Thank you.