Greenham Trust and West Berkshire Council have created this emergency appeal to help local charitable and voluntary organisations support people who are struggling to pay for food and daily costs due to the rapid rise in food prices, energy costs and inflation.
Local charities are reporting a concerning trend of increasing numbers of employed individuals and families that are seeking assistance with food and emergency cost of living advice.
Meryl Praill from Newbury Soup Kitchen:
“Weekly numbers are starting to increase week on week, our numbers are up by a quarter. More clients are asking to take extra food away with them with their food parcels. Fuel poverty is on the increase. More and more of our clients are asking for Gas and Electricity top-ups. It is scary out there.”
Greenham Trust and West Berkshire Council have each contributed £50,000 to the appeal making a total of £100,000 available in matched funding.
We are extremely grateful for the generous donations from:
• Englefield Charitable Trust
• The Bernard Sunley Foundation
• G J Ward Charitable Trust
Thank you to the public too, who have also donated. If you are able to spare any of the £400 government discount please donate it to help those in need.
We are reviewing grant applications on a regular basis and have just awarded the first grants from this scheme to Citizens Advice West Berkshire and West Berkshire Homeless to help with fuel poverty.
