HOMEBUILDER’S DONATION ENABLES BERKSHIRE CHARITY TO HELP CLIENTS WITH THE COST OF LIVING

David Wilson Homes has made a £1,500 donation to West Berkshire Foodbank to help provide people in need with access to food parcels and related support services.

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DWHS – Community Fund donation to West Berkshire Foodbank, Berks

The Hungerford-based developer’s contribution has enabled the charity to support local people in food poverty and to ensure that members of the public can access other services, such as housing information, benefits advice, refugee assistance, and mental health support. The foodbank also responds to learning needs in adult literacy and cookery.

The foodbank, which is located at Greenham Common and was founded 10 years ago, has around 160 volunteers running a warehouse who collect, organise, and deliver donations and manage the charity’s five distribution centres in Newbury, Thatcham, Hungerford, Calcot and Burghfield-and-Mortimer; a sixth is due to open in January 2024 to meet growing need.

Julia Hoaen, Trustee of West Berkshire Foodbank, said: “We are delighted that David Wilson Homes has chosen our charity for its donation.

“The very generous gift of £1,500 will support the ongoing work to run the operation and keep our stock levels healthy after some weeks of very empty shelves in the summer. Increasingly, however, we are also helping clients in fuel poverty and requiring digital access, increasing our reliance on financial contributions such as this.

“We and our clients are very grateful to David Wilson Homes for their kind donation and their understanding of the needs of many in our community at a time when food inflation is growing faster than incomes, leaving so many worried about how they and their families will eat.”

The donation from David Wilson Homes was made via The Barratt Foundation which is designed to support national and local charities, large and small, to leave a legacy in the communities in which the housebuilder operates.

Campbell Gregg, Managing Director at David Wilson Homes Southern, said: “With many struggling due to the continuous rise in the cost of living, charities like West Berkshire Foodbank provide an extremely valuable service.

“As a leading housebuilder, we strive to support the communities in which we build, and we’re sure our Community Fund donation will go a long way to help the charity to support those that need it.”

West Berkshire Foodbank relies on donations to be able to serve people in need, and David Wilson Homes’ donation has helped it to cover additional costs, including shopping trollies to let beneficiaries get their food back to where they live.

For more information about the charity, or to donate or volunteer at the warehouse, visit the website at West Berkshire Foodbank.