Ten years ago, in May 2014, St Saviour’s Church opened its first Foodbank Distribution Centre with the Trussell Trust’s Cardiff Foodbank.
It was the first in Wales to offer an evening session, a response to the growing need which has never gone away.
Today, the two sessions continue on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday evening.
Some of the volunteers who were there on the opening night are still working as volunteers, ten years on. People like Glyn (who is also the Lay Chair for the Ministry Area), and Janet.
Both are members of the congregation at St Saviour’s. They are there, week in, week out to do some of the many jobs involved from welcoming clients and administering the voucher system, to packing bags according to need or making a cup of tea whilst they wait.
Over the years we’ve also received a number of new members of the team. Catrin joined a few years years ago and volunteers each Thursday evening.
A growing need
There is so much generosity in response to need. All of the food is freely donated, and the staff at St Saviour’s, like all the Distribution Centres across the city, give freely of their time.
But since we first opened our doors ten years ago, the need keeps growing. Then, St Saviour’s was the fifth Distribution Centre to open in the city. Since then, another three have been launched, increasing the reach across Cardiff from Ely to St Mellons, from Grangetown to Tongwynlais, from Cathays to Llanedeyrn.
Ten years ago, 7500 parcels of food were distributed by Cardiff Foodbank. Between 2022-2023, this had increased to 19,253, forty-percent (7,639) of which were children.
Across the UK, the picture is the same. Last year, the Trussell Trust network, which consists of over 400 centres, provided nearly 3 million (2,986,203) emergency food parcels to people experiencing hunger – with over 1 million of these going to children.
Generous Giving
Like so many other churches and organisations, the churches of South Cardiff Ministry Area donates food to Cardiff Foodbank. Often, people will arrive with supplies on a Sunday before Mass or through the week. Sometimes, cash donations are given which enable us to take a shopping trip of our own.
In 2023, the churches of South Cardiff Ministry Area, donated over 440kg of food which equates to about 39 food parcels.
“I’m hugely inspired by people’s generosity,” said Fr Dean Atkins. “There is a very real culture of people putting their faith into action, whether they are donating food or giving of their time as volunteers.”
“We’ve been privileged to be part of the Foodbank network for the last ten years, and we remain as committed as ever to meeting people at their point of need.”
This is the first of a series of articles to mark the tenth anniversary of St Saviour’s partnership with Cardiff Foodbank
For more information about Cardiff Foodbank, including how to donate and more details about how to access the service, check out their website at https://cardiff.foodbank.org.uk
South Cardiff Ministry Area 
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