Conscientious Devon opticians are calling on local people to support a food-donation campaign for those in need.Colleagues from the Specsavers Exmouth store on Exeter Road are donating items to the collection and are asking members of the public to contribute any long-life food items they can.
All donations will go to the Exmouth Food Bank, which was set up 12 years ago by a group of local churches. Its aim is to provide free emergency food help to individuals and families in crisis.
Ria Heskins, director at Specsavers Exmouth, says: ‘Exmouth is lucky to have such an excellent food bank and, with so many local people struggling, we wanted to help them.‘The cost-of-living crisis has hit many people hard. I know of people who are making the choice between buying food now or saving to heat their home later in the year. Also, with schools having broken up, there are families who are struggling to feed their children during the holidays.
‘We’ve done this sort of collection for the food bank before and have always had such incredible support from the people of Exmouth – with a whole a test room being full of donations. This sort of generosity never ceases to amaze me and my colleagues, and we’re hoping for the same this year.’
Currently, Exmouth Food Bank provides food to support more than 160 people per week. Last year the food bank supplied 3,512 food parcels, feeding 8,195 people. Levels of demand for food parcels have remained consistently high during 2024, caused in part been by the cost of food, fuel and utility bills.
Shirley Newcombe, Chair of Exmouth Food Bank, adds: ‘We are so grateful to Specsavers Exmouth and members of the public who are supporting this collection. It really will help a lot of local people.
‘The summer months are particularly tough for families. This campaign will help us to replenish our core stock, especially as our regular weekly donations of food have begun to tail off as donors struggle themselves with the current cost of living.
‘Unfortunately, life doesn’t always go the way we all plan and, for whatever reason, some people find themselves without the money to buy food. We are here to help and can provide food supplies to those who live in Exmouth or the surrounding areas, including Lympstone, Woodbury and Budleigh Salterton.’
Exmouth Specsavers is accepting pasta, rice, tinned food, coffee, tea and other long-life food items as part of the collection, which runs until 12 August. All items donated will be distributed in and around Exmouth. The store is open seven days a week and can be contacted on 01395 277107.
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