Housing provider helps Welwyn Hatfield foodbank as part of £10,000 donation

Paradigm Housing Group made the donation to support areas where we have the highest concentration of customers.

Welwyn Hatfield received part of the donation, along with foodbanks in Buckinghamshire, Watford, Broxbourne, Hillingdon, Luton and Milton Keynes.

“We know that many people continue to struggle and foodbanks are expecting to see an increase in demand during the winter from households needing emergency help due to the loss of the Universal Credit extra payment of £20 per week,” said Paradigm in a statement about their donation.

“This is in addition to the wider cost of living pressure including gas price rises, which will have a significant financial impact on low-income households.”

Chief executive of Paradigm, Matthew Bailes added: “It was great to see first-hand the valuable work that the foodbank does.

“Some of our customers rely heavily on their local foodbank which are a vital resource and a lifeline for those who need additional support to feed their families.”

The donation to the Hatfield foodbank was gratefully received by trustee and treasurer Mike Dyce, who explained how the money will help them buy items that aren’t often donated by the public.

“Donations like this enable us to buy the things that people need but are not very often donated, like toiletries,” he said.

“If someone has an interview coming up, for example, they might need things like razor blades and deodorant, so it's extremely valuable to get donations of money as well as goods.

“We work closely with other agencies to try to support people with their underlying debt problems as well as their short-term needs.”

Foodbanks in Welwyn Hatfield have seen a significant rise in the number of people relying on their services in recent years, with data from November 2019 to October 2020, showing more than 3,900 residents have had to rely on three-day food parcels, up 45 per cent on the previous year.