A NEW food bank has opened in St Peter to cope with rising demand across the Island amid the growing cost-of-living crisis.
The Society of St Vincent de Paul Jersey already runs a bank at St Thomas Hall in St Helier but has now opened up a new facility, based at St Peter’s Church, to cover the western parishes.
It will open on Fridays between 1pm and 2pm, with Islanders being invited to pre-order food and hygiene supplies using an online ordering service or in-person, in advance at the church.
Sinéad Wright, president of the SPV Jersey, said the service is available to all Islanders in need of assistance, whether that be due to medical issues, low income or unemployment.
She said: “It is has become clear that although a valuable service, its outreach is limited to those who have transport into town or live in the St Helier vicinity.
“Our objective in setting up the western Foodbank is to extend the services and support we can offer to more Islanders for now starting with the western parishes with our new base at St Peter’s Parish Church.”
“In due course it may be possible to offer help in other parishes across the Island.”
“From our experience and those who speak to us about the poverty which exists throughout the Island, we expect that this new service will be of great benefit to many Islanders, including families which need extra support with mother & baby items like nappies and baby formula.”
Service users must be a registered client with the church before receiving any donations.
Discussing the click-and-collect option, Ms Wright added: “It had proved a great success with clients who have limited time to wait or who simply choose to avail of this service which, as an incentive, has a larger range of food products on order.
“By offering an online assistance SVP, is able to provide support to more Islanders.”
