Requests for food assistance from Mid West Simon have grown by 50 percent since the start of the pandemic.
The charity’s food bank is welcoming the donation of over 1,000 items as part of a Bus Éireann fundraiser in Limerick last Thursday.
CEO Jackie Bonfield says this will go a long way in helping people in north Tipp, Limerick and Clare over the Christmas period, but is continuing to ask for food and financial donations.
She says that many people are being forced into difficult decisions this winter.
“The weather this year seems to be exceptionally cold. We have a lot of new people on our books for Food Bank and we’ve a lot of people who have been needing our support for a while.”
“What we find around this time of year is a lot of people trying to make the decision whether they should have food or should they have heat – in 2020 in Ireland we shouldn’t have that situation. We especially don’t want older people not being able to turn on the heat because they won’t be able to buy food or vice versa.”
“So if people are in a position to donate we would be really grateful.”
