King’s Ely donates “outstanding” haul of items to local foodbank

King's Ely is proud to have gone the extra mile to support Ely Foodbank this autumn.

Thanks to the generosity of students, staff and families from King’s Ely Acremont Pre-Prep right the way through to Sixth Form, King’s Ely donated enough food and toiletry items to fill five cars and the school’s rowing truck, which Cathy Wright, Ely Foodbank’s Project Director, has described as “outstanding”.

Scott Mathie, who is Head of Year 9 and Teacher of Chemistry at King’s Ely Senior, oversaw the collection, which included everything from soups to tinned meat to pasta sauce. Mr Mathie was joined by a team of enthusiastic Year 13 students to deliver the goods to the Foodbank and its volunteers.

Karen Relton, Community Minister at the Countess Free Church in Ely and a volunteer with Ely Foodbank, also attended two of King’s Ely’s Harvest Festival Services at Ely Cathedral to speak to pupils about the vital support the Foodbank is providing in Ely and East Cambridgeshire, and a little about the work of the charity CAFOD, which is an international development charity.

Cathy Wright said: “Ely Foodbank sends a huge thank you to King’s Ely for the outstanding number of donations collected. Your food is certainly needed as we have seen quite a significant drop in donations recently, at a time when demand is growing. The food will be packed into parcels to help those who are struggling with the increase in the cost of living, those affected by the Universal Credit drop, and many of life’s situations that push a person to a point of needing the support of a Foodbank. We couldn’t do it without you!”

To find out how you can support Ely Foodbank, visit: https://ely.foodbank.org.uk/