A heartfelt thank you to all those many people who continue so generously to donate to the local Foodbank in Thornbury.

2018 saw a rise in calls for emergency food: we helped 24 per cent more people, adults and children, compared with 2017.

Over the year we gave out 4.5 tonnes of food and other essential provisions, and helped a number of people with the costs of gas and electricity.

Without the support of all you who donate, and of the various partner agencies who so sensitively assess the need for Foodbank vouchers for people, this important lifeline would not be possible.

It has been wonderful to see how various groups, not least of all young people, have found imaginative ways to collect in support of the Foodbank, such as Halloween “trick or treat” or reverse Advent calendars.

All this shows an awareness that we share a responsibility for the well-being of neighbours, even when we do not see or know them. That bodes well for the future of our community.

We continue to hope that the coming year might see changes in policy that might at least reduce significantly the need for people to come to Foodbanks. But, meanwhile, so long as the need exists your donations will continue to be welcomed by those in need.

Again we send our heartfelt thank you to all who so generously support this work.

Chris Verey, on behalf of Thornbury Foodbank