Food donations were organised by The Buckingham Emergency Food Appeal (BEFA), which began in 1985 when its founder Mike Buckingham took his children to the theatre in London and saw homeless people sleeping under Waterloo Bridge.

Mike worked closely with The Salvation Army in North Walsham after he set up BEFA and the appeal has been supporting churches in the area, as well as other separate charities, ever since.

Just before Christmas, leaders from Salvation Army churches including Thetford, Dereham, Norwich, Snettisham, Stowmarket and Woodbridge were invited to BEFA’s Norfolk base to pick up items including 40kg of potatoes, 20kg of onions, turkey crowns and bacon.

Major Alan Hill is leader of The Salvation Army in Woodbridge. He and the other church leaders were incredibly grateful to BEFA.

He said: “When you think of the hardships the farmers have been going through, their generosity is simply amazing. Thanks to them, hundreds of people in our community enjoyed warm meals at our lunch clubs and on Christmas Day.

“On behalf of the other leaders and the people we support, I want to say a huge thank you. The donations really do make a huge difference and mean that people who may otherwise have had nothing have something to enjoy at this time of the year.”

Major Kevin Pitt leads The Salvation Army in Stowmarket and echoed Alan’s thoughts.

He said: “We’re very grateful. They are tremendously generous and gave us more than we were expecting. I only went to collect in a little car and was worried that I wouldn’t be able to fit all the food in it! We were able to provide people with a whole Christmas dinner and were also able to share the food to help others in need in our area.”

Ken Smith, BEFA coordinator, said he and his team often receive letters of thanks from people who benefit from the donations.

He added: “This is why we do it really – when you hear from people who have benefitted and the meals or parties they have enjoyed, you think this is why we are doing what we are doing.”

The Woodbridge Lions Club provided 100 bags of special festive food treats at Christmas to the Salvation Army Food Bank in Woodbridge.  

The club would like to thank Lions Stella Benton and John Wood who were the lead Lions on this project. Special thanks goes to Chris Matthews, the manager of the East of England Co-op, who helped significantly and Major Alan Hill and his team at the Woodbridge Salvation Army Food Bank. Last, and by no means least, the club thanks all the members of the public for making donations and supporting their events throughout the year. 

Donated vegetables. Photo Credit: The Buckingham Emergency Food Appeal.