Southampton care home donates to town food bank

 

A care home in Southampton has gathered dozens of items to help local families in need as the weather gets colder. 

To celebrate this year’s Harvest Festival, residents and team members at Care UK’s Ancasta Grove, on Barnes Lane, encouraged the local community to donate their extra, unused or unwanted non-perishable food items to the home’s very own foodbank drop-off-point.

Each year, Harvest Festival celebrates the time when crops have been gathered from fields and people can reflect and show gratitude for the food that they have. It dates back to when people relied on local crops for food, and farmers would give thanks for a good harvest.

The foodbank drop-off point was located at Ancasta Grove in the care home’s reception area for a number of weeks, where it gathered dozens of items to be donated to Fareham Food Bank. The home presented foodbank representative Phil Rutt with the donations at a special handover this week, and the items will now be distributed to families in need in the community. 

Resident Frances Weaver, 93, said she was proud to be able to help those less fortunate. 

She said: “I loved being involved in this donation. Too many people today are struggling, so it’s wonderful to support in any way. We are blessed to live here.”

Audrey Chiduku, Home Manager at Ancasta Grove, added: “At Ancasta Grove, we are always looking for ways to give back and support our community and local charities, which is why we were delighted to partner with Fareham Food Bank and launch our first ever foodbank drop-off point. 

“In these challenging times, we know many people may be struggling, and with Christmas fast approaching, it’s more important than ever to support foodbanks, which provide a vital lifeline for many members of our local community.

“We hope the donations will help families in need of support across Southampton during the colder months.”

To find out more about Care UK’s Harvest Festival, please visit www.careuk.com/harvest-festival 

Ancasta Grove has been designed to deliver the very best standards of care and to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives. The home provides residential, nursing and specialist dementia care, as well as respite and end-of-life care, and is proud to be able to offer a ‘home for life’ if an individual’s needs change over time.