Copart Belfast was delighted to support their local community by collecting donations for the Fountain Food Bank, based at Downpatrick Presbyterian Church.
Demand for food banks in Northern Ireland has soared by almost 150% because of Covid-19, according to figures from the Trussell Trust.
Loss of income, combined with high risk and vulnerable people struggling to shop for food, has meant the economic and social consequences of the pandemic have driven up the levels of need for food banks.
But food banks, like many other charitable organisations, have been hit hard by the pandemic. Not only has it been impossible for fundraising events to take place, but many people are either unable to leave their homes or do not have enough money available to donate.
Despite being one of Copart’s smaller Operation Centres, the team at Belfast was determined to make a big difference in their local community!
Over the past month, the team has been busy collecting donations of food items, as well as cleaning products, toiletries, and women’s hygiene products, which are all currently in high demand.
Last week, General Manager Ricky McCaughran and Customer Service Representative Jade Glean visited the Fountain Food Bank in Downpatrick, which is located in close proximity to Copart Belfast, to deliver boxes of donations.
“We were determined to show our support to this worthy cause and play a part in caring for our community. Jade Glean was exceptional in driving this campaign on our site, showing the team what a positive impact they could have on helping local people in need.
As an essential service to the insurance sector, our business has been able to operate throughout the pandemic, so we wanted to take the opportunity to give something back to people in the local area who have not been so fortunate during this difficult time.”
Ricky McCaughran, General Manager – Copart Belfast
Fountain Food Bank is a charity, based at Downpatrick Presbyterian Church. They provide emergency food parcels to those who find themselves in difficult circumstances for a variety of reasons, including low income, redundancy, illness, benefit issues, homelessness, domestic violence or simply an unexpected bill.
Between October 2020 and January 2021, they distributed over 500 food parcels helping around 1,300 people (including over 500 children) and gave out extra orders for almost 200 parcels at Christmas.
“The foodbank has seen an increase in demand, but amazingly this has been met by an increase in generosity from people and companies like Copart, and we have more donations and finance than before.
It shows great community spirit at this difficult time and it’s very pleasing to see an increased awareness of the needs of others. I would like to thank Copart for their recent generous donations of food, which are being put to good use to help those in need in the local community.”
Shirley Lenton, Volunteer Co-ordinator at Fountain Food Bank