THE lockdown heroes who help the most vulnerable people across North Down and Ards have been thanked for their efforts by the borough’s first citizen.
Representatives from North Down Storehouse, Bangor Foodbank and Community Support as well as Donaghadee and Newtownards Foodbanks recently attended a special mayoral reception at Bangor Town Hall.
Some of Donaghadee’s lockdown volunteers from the ‘Here to Help’ group were also delighted to attend as well as ice-cream vendor David Sloan who converted his van into a mobile shop when the pandemic crisis took hold.
As the Covid-19 health crisis gripped the globe, these dedicated people delivered thousands of food parcels and medical prescriptions to vulnerable residents including those who were shielding.
Each of the groups praised the generosity of the local community, including individuals, shops and restaurants that all provided a wealth of support from financial donations to prepared meals.
Welcoming his guests to the council chamber, the Mayor, Mark Brooks, said the celebration is my way of saying thank you to different sections of the community, who during Covid went out of their way and continued to provide services, particularly to the most vulnerable.
“In my role as Mayor I just wanted to recognise the work that each and every one of you has done and say thank you very much,” he said.
Representing the North Down Storehouse team were chairwoman Margaret Bailie, manager Pauline Hare, helpline manager Valerie Miskimmon and some volunteers.
Margaret spoke of the ‘overwhelming’ support Storehouse had received during the pandemic saying: “We are supported by 54 local churches and the support we received, both financial and goods, has been overwhelming.
“People also donated money when they could not donate food. At Harvest and Christmas time the schools in the area outdid themselves and we also had a lot of support from businesses, with one business giving us £100 a week.”
Pauline Hare said: “It really did bring out the best in people and brought the community together.”
Margaret praised their volunteers saying: “We are an independent foodbank and we are all volunteers, nobody is a paid employee. Our volunteers have been amazing throughout.”
Donaghadee based ice-cream vendor David Sloan sprung into action to help others when he realised the pandemic was going to force him out of work.
“Three days into the pandemic I realised I wasn’t going to be able to work so I converted my ice-cream van into a mobile shop to help all the pensioners,” he said.
“I took everything out of the van and went to the wholesalers and replaced it with loads of produce. The pensioners were unable to get a slot for their groceries to be delivered for weeks, some people just couldn’t get anything.”
Richard Porter, Newtownards Foodbank manager, said demand for services increased by 400% when the pandemic first took hold.
Today, demand for foodbank services continues to remain due to the cost of living crisis, as many people face the difficult decision of heating their homes or having food to eat.
He praised the efforts of his volunteers saying: “We are very privileged to be here, it is lovely to be invited and to acknowledge the efforts of our volunteers.”
Richard said Newtownards Foodbank had to develop a ‘delivery model’ in response to the crisis. “Our number of clients soared compared to the same time the previous year. We also had to work out how to get the food to our clients with a delivery model.”
He praised the generosity of local people. “Our donations increased radically because of the generosity of the community who met our needs at every point. We were able to help with the cost of electricity and prescription runs.”
Richard said: “Half of our volunteers had to shield but fortunately we had people who were furloughed who were able to step in and fill the volunteer gap.
“During some months we were giving out about 400% more food than we would normally give out for the same month during the previous year.”
He said of the current high demand: “We are still continuing to be busy because of the cost of living. A lot more people are having problems with heating their homes and feeding their children.
“We have also seen a big increase in the working poor, people who do have jobs but are struggling because of their terms and conditions, but it is the only money they can get.”
Representing the ‘Here to Help’ group were Pamela Skey and Emma Chambers from Donaghadee, but they were keen to shine a light on the efforts of their fellow group members Lindsay Oldfield, Lesley Anne O’Malley, Pauline Moore, Joanne Courtney and Lisa McKnight.
These dedicated women delivered 3,500 leaflets across the local Donaghadee area, reaching out to people who did not have internet access, and offered to help in whatever way they needed.
Said Pamela: “We were a group of women from Donaghadee and thanks to funding from the council and the lottery we were able to provide people who were vulnerable with non-means tested care packages.”
For the first 12 weeks of the first lockdown Pamela said they delivered 1,200 care packages that contained enough fresh food for five days, as well as additional extras.
Said Pamela: “We also delivered medication to 100 residents and took telephone orders for shopping. We were all continuing to work full time and did this in our spare time.”
She praised the support of local shops and restaurants in the area. ‘Local restaurants provided hundreds of meals and we delivered them. We also provided flowers to the care homes. Donations came in thick and fast.”
Ken Scott, manager of Bangor Foodbank and Community Support, was also pleased to be able to attend the event along with their volunteers.
Demand for the Bangor foodbank services remains high despite the easing of the pandemic restrictions. “In the last two weeks we have seen a massive increase in demand, particularly those with larger families. The cost of living and utilities is putting people and families under pressure.”
