The Poundland Foundation has donated £150,000 to the Trussell Trust to support the vital work of their food bank network. Food banks in the Trussell Trust network distributed 3.1 million emergency food parcels between April 2023 and March 2024.
This is the highest number of parcels that the charity has ever distributed through its UK-wide network of food banks in a single year, and is a staggering 94% increase compared to five years ago.
To announce the Poundland Foundation’s donation, former Yorkshire and England cricketer Ryan Sidebottom visited Poundland’s Teesside Park store where he took part in a 60-second trolley dash alongside his wife Maddie. Everything that went into the trolleys will be donated to Billingham and Stockton Borough Foodbank.
The £150,000 grant from the Poundland Foundation will provide crucial support for the Trussell Trust as food bank need rises to a level never-before-seen in the UK.
The donation will help support food banks across the UK, including grants to cover the food banks’ increased running costs as well as providing support for food bank volunteers.
Since it first launched in 2021, the Poundland Foundation has worked tirelessly to achieve its mission of supporting children and families when they need it most, through life-changing grants with their national charity partners Whizz-Kidz, Make-A-Wish® UK and Tommy’s.
Lucy Ruff Poundland’s charity foundation manager, said: “We’re incredibly proud to be donating £150,000 to support the Trussell Trust. The money will go towards the vital services that food banks provide to communities across the country.
“Right now food banks in the UK are under immense pressure to provide support for people on the lowest incomes, and at a time when so many are having to go without, the Trussell Trust needs all of the support it can get.”
Zoe Pate, head of corporate partnerships at the Trussell Trust, said: “We are so grateful to the Poundland Foundation for their support. Last year food banks in the Trussell Trust network distributed more than 3.1 million emergency food parcels to people unable to afford the essentials in the UK. Food banks are not a long-term solution to hunger and poverty in the UK, but until we reach our vision, food banks are a lifeline for so many people and will be there for their communities for as long as they are needed.”
