Rugby MP visited the local Foodbank last week to meet with volunteers and users of the service. Mark also learnt more about the service’s new mobile phone app. The new app allows people to find out the specific shortages and needs that the foodbank currently has so they can shop and donate accordingly.
Food banks provide an incredibly valuable service, beyond the support provided by Government, and Mark visited the local centre to pay tribute to the hardworking volunteers involved. Mark also wished to highlight the service’s new mobile phone app that allows people to access information regarding their local Foodbank on their mobile phones.
Speaking after the visit Mark said:
“It is clear that people visit food banks for a variety of different reasons and I am very grateful to the team at the Rugby Centre led by, Diana Mansell, for allowing me to learn more about the valuable work that they do and to observe how the Foodbank operates. I was interested to see the new app that has been launched which assists the Foodbank’s most generous supporters to provide what is most needed at any one time.”
Mark continued:
“It is, of course, highly undesirable that anybody should be in a position where they feel the need to visit a food bank in the first place so the Government is tackling the underlying cause of poverty in this country and supporting millions of people who are on low incomes. Since 2010, 2.7m people have been taken out of tax altogether and 25m people have had their income tax cut, giving them on average £700 extra a year. Work is the best way to lift outcomes, and I am delighted that there are now 1.3m more people in jobs since the last General Election and in addition unemployment has fallen significantly and consistently.”
Diana Mansell, Rugby Foodbank Manager, said after the visit:
“Mark has supported the Rugby Foodbank on a number of occasions and it was good to welcome him to our distribution morning so he could see this side of the operation. He was able to chat with some clients and hear their stories. None of us like to see anyone having to make hard choices – paying the bills, feeding themselves or the children; but those are some of the issues our clients face. However the tremendous support that the Foodbank has had from all sectors of the community has meant that we have been able to distribute over 63,000 meals in just 2 years – amazing.”