NEWYDD Housing Association has given the Vale Foodbank £500 after it experienced a massive increase in demand, due to the effects of the covid-19 pandemic.

This is paired with a drastic change in their methods of food collection and distribution in order to comply with social distancing.

This is the second time this year that Newydd has made a cash donation to foodbanks.

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Vale Foodbank manager, Becky Morgan said: “We are so grateful for this donation from Newydd.

"It has been an incredibly busy time for the Vale Foodbank throughout these last few months, having an 82 per cent increase in demand has kept us all working hard.

"We have had to completely change the way we operate as a foodbank, closing our centres and becoming a delivery only service.

“This generous donation from Newydd will help us to reach the high demand of people in crisis in our community and will enable us to provide food parcels for people who find themselves in financial difficulties following the covid pandemic.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank Newydd so much for their ongoing support to the foodbank, it is hugely appreciated."

Newydd chief executive, Paul Roberts said, “We are aware that the covid-19 pandemic has been a very difficult period for many households and the demands placed on food banks have increased at a time when running their services has been doubly difficult.

"Newydd has supported the work of local food banks both financially and with other help in the past and we wanted to play our part during this crisis.

"We are sure the money we have donated will be put to good use and will support those who most need it.”

He added: "Every day people in the UK go without food, with one in five of the UK population living below the poverty line and with the winding down of the furlough scheme from August, this figure is likely to increase.

"It’s likely that the country will face higher levels of redundancies on top of the job losses already announced across all sectors and this is likely to increase the number of people needing the help of food banks. "Foodbanks provide those in need with nutritionally balanced emergency food which are a lifeline to many families, and that’s why Newydd wanted to help."