Plaid Cymru Arfon Member of the Senedd Siân Gwenllian and Member of Parliament Hywel Williams have launched a Winter Foodbank Appeal to help support the two main foodbanks in their constituency.
The local representatives recently delivered food packages to the Arfon foodbank in Caernarfon and the Cathedral foodbank in Bangor and paid tribute to the generosity of public giving and the time and effort of local volunteers in supporting those in need of a helping hand this Christmas.
A Just Giving page has been set up for those who want to donate to the foodbanks – https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/plaidcymru-arfon?utm_term=zwM83KewG
Siân Gwenllian MS said: “It’s a scandal that food banks should exist in the first place, but the compassionate actions of Arfon people during the pandemic shows a feeling of a duty of care that we have towards each other.
“Normally we would have held food collections at our constituency office on the High St. in Bangor and in Caernarfon, but our offices are still closed because of Covid restrictions.
“Therefore, I’m delighted to have moved the collection online. I know that constituents will step up to the mark, at the end of a year that has been especially hard financially for a lot of people.
“It’s despairing that people should have to depend on a safety net provided by kind-hearted volunteers, but the work that both Foodbanks do is invaluable, and I would like to thank them.”
Hywel Williams MP said: “It’s thanks to the generosity of public giving and the time and effort of volunteers that those in need of help are able to keep themselves and their families fed this Christmas. The support of the community in Arfon is greatly valued.
“I know people of Arfon will respond with great kindness and generosity to our campaign again this year so that the local food banks in Caernarfon and Bangor do not run low over the festive season.
“Food banks have no place in twenty first century Britain. It’s a reflection of this UK Tory Government’s continued austerity agenda that so many of our most vulnerable people are now dependent on strangers for support.
“If this Government continues attacking the vulnerable, more and more people will become reliant on the generosity of others for help. One thing is certain, the people of my constituency are ready and willing to do their bit.”
Photos: Siân Gwenllian MS delivering food donated by Plaid Cymru to the Cathedral Foodbank in Bangor & Hywel Williams MP delivering food donated by Plaid Cymru to the Arfon Foodbank in Caernarfon.
