Asda Bangor this week surprised Bangor Foodbank and Community Support with a donation of £20,250 from Asda’s charity, Asda Foundation to help develop a new resource centre to expand their service offering.
The grant is part of Asda Foundation investment of £750k in 60 local community groups and charities across the UK, with the aim of transforming community spaces and places after customers said the cost-of-living crisis has impacted their social and community interaction
Over 60 ‘Spaces and Places’ grants ranging from £5,000 to £25,000, have been awarded across the UK by the Asda Foundation and Bangor Foodbank and Community Support was one of the successful applications to receive funding.
The funding will enable the group to develop a resource centre within their facility. This will enable the introduction of new services such as mental health support, money management and skill development. The funding will help support an overall project to create three new spaces within the facility to cater for various needs.
Ami Craig, Community Champion at Asda Bangor, said:
“We’re delighted to be able to support the Bangor Foodbank and Community Support group with a cheque for £20,250 from the Asda Foundation. The foodbank supported over 2000 families during COVID which accounted for 140,000 meals.”
“They don’t just provide food donations; they also offer a range of services to support those who are struggling, including food safety and debt management. This grant will go a long way to help the group increase availability of their services and the range of services they offer too.”
Ken Scott, Project Manager at Bangor Foodbank and Community Support, said:
“It’s fantastic news for us to get such a sizeable grant from the Asda Foundation, particularly during the difficult times we are living in. The grant will enable us to provide much needed services such as debt management and benefit advice as well as our foodbank provisions. Thanks to Asda, we will be able to offer a complete suite of services to those in need and we are so grateful for the incredible support.”
Research by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership is informing Asda’s Spaces & Places programme. Early insights derived from interviews with community groups indicates meeting space affordability can be a significant barrier to bringing people together, and that the existence of a ‘trusted, neutral and accessible’ space for local groups to meet and interact is likely to be an important resource for community wellbeing.
Further research from Asda showed that 1 in 4 people feel that the cost of living has impacted connections to their local community and is already limiting social their social and leisure activities. The research shows that families are scaling back their plans to reduce costs and are, spending more time at home with families and spending less time within their communities. The research also shows that access to mental health support in communities is vital in order to ease loneliness and isolation
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