A GENEROUS donation to Mid Cheshire Foodbank will go towards providing products to maintain good hygiene in the fight against coronavirus.

After being nominated by the Guardian as part of our Feed Our Foodbank campaign, Gadbrook Park based IT company MIS Group has made a £1,000 donation to help struggling families in the area.

Covid-19 has had an enormous impact on foodbanks, with Mid Cheshire Foodbank stating that it has fed twice as many people as it did during the same period last year.

At the same time, public donations of food items have decreased with those now living on reduced incomes being unable to buy surplus items to donate.

Catherine Lawton, project manager at Mid Cheshire Foodbank said: “We recently helped a single parent who had just lost their job and came to us as a last resort because there was only enough food in the house for the children’s breakfast.

“They had never used a foodbank before and were so ashamed that they were unable to provide for their children.

“Food poverty should not exist like this in the UK, but unfortunately it has become a reality for more people than ever.

“As hygiene becomes more important than ever, it isn’t just food that people need.

“We want to help people reduce the spread of the virus, so we have started providing laundry detergent and hand soap, as well as more general toiletries.”

MIS Group has pledged to donate a total of £20,000 to twenty UK food banks over a ten-week period through its Food for All campaign, which aims to stamp out food poverty and raise the profile of important charities.

Following the donation, the company said: “We recognise that across the country, more and more people are hitting crisis point.

“The financial impact of Covid-19 is huge, and we wanted to do something positive to help people who have been affected and give something back.”

This week, the foodbank is due to run out of fruit juice, pasta sauce, savoury spreads and shampoo, with donations gratefully received.

These can be donated at Hartford Sainsbury’s, Northwich ASDA, Tesco and Waitrose, Winsford ASDA or the Mid Cheshire Foodbank warehouse, open between 9am and midday on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at unit 14, The Business Centre, Barlow Drive, Winsford.

Monetary donations can also be made via justgiving.com/midcheshirefoodbank/

If you are in need of referral, please contact Sean from CA in the Community on 07894238963 or CWAC’s dedicated helpline on 0300 123 7031.