Society donates to local Leicestershire foodbanks

Five foodbanks in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire have received a total of £100,000 from the Market Harborough Building Society (MHBS) as part of its Thrive Agenda.

South Leicester Foodbank in Wigston and Jubilee Foodbank in Market Harborough have received a portion of the funds to help kickstart their New Year campaigns.

The money will be used to cover the increasing core costs of ensuring the foodbank can meet the growing need of emergency food parcels in Leicestershire. Since April 2022, they have distributed over 17,000 emergency food parcels to families and individuals. They predict that by April they will have helped over 22,000 people struggling to put food on the table.

The other three recipients are Corby Foodbank, Kettering Foodbank and Kettering District Foodbank which are also located within the Society’s operational area. The funds have been divided proportionately based on the size of the population areas they serve.

The Thrive Agenda is MHBS’ new initiative to ensure giving back is at the core of everything they do. It represents an evolution in their purpose and involves a wide range of community activities to be implemented over 2023.

Chief Executive Iain Kirkpatrick said, “Rooted in the desire to give back at every opportunity, we’ve realigned our goals to reflect what really matters to our members now, in 2023.

“We’ve outlined our roadmap to a better society, called the Thrive Agenda. It’s our intention to support our members, our colleagues and our communities to flourish, to live the full and positive lives they deserve.

“The first step in this project is to support our local foodbanks in their sadly ever growing task of supporting families in need with basic provisions as they battle the cost of living crisis and crippling energy prices.”

Bruce Harrison of South Leicestershire Foodbank, which is part of the Trussell Trust added, “This is a tremendous and generous donation. It will enable us to continue to serve the people in Leicestershire that are finding it difficult to make ends meet.

“This donation will also help us to develop our service which includes advice and advocacy, benefits and debt advice, to support people in the choices they have to make so that they don’t have to rely on food banks.

“It is wrong that our community is having to make decisions on what meals they can eat, whether to switch the heating on, or keep a roof over their heads. With this donation, we can offer fuel vouchers, store gift cards and other practical support alongside the emergency food parcels we are already giving out. Thank you so much for this donation, the Society is contributing to making a thriving, hopeful community.”

Since 1870, MHBS has been owned by its members and remained a trusted provider of mortgages and savings for over 150 years. It has six branches in Market Harborough, Kibworth, Desborough, Rothwell, Corby and Kettering.