Festive partygoers at a popular hotel are raising a glass and helping out record numbers of people in crisis in Wrexham this Christmas.
Historic Rossett Hall Hotel have opened their annual food bank collection and already the donations are flooding in for the Wrexham Food Bank where demand has never been higher.
The Food Bank, which has been running since 2012, has since April seen the numbers of those in need soar to almost 1,000 food parcels a month at its eight collection points around the county.
Hotel General Manager Shaun Owens said: “We have been collecting for the food bank for the past six years and we find that people are looking forward to making a donation.
“They seem to enjoy coming to our party events, making a donation and receiving a free welcome drink in return and our staff also make donations.
“Lots of our guests see the display in the reception area and will go out and buy something to hand over.
“We have been supporting the Wrexham Food Bank for so long that we actually get people asking when we are starting to collect and they are so generous, calling in to drop off donations at reception.”
The Wrexham Food Bank, part of the Trussell Trust Group, was founded in 2012 and operates its deliveries from Rhosddu Industrial Estate where donations of food and other essentials can be dropped off.
The Food Bank has just three permanent staff and relies on over 100 volunteers to maintain its services.
Sophie Case, Development Manager for the Food Bank, said: “Our distribution centres are open at least one session every day from Monday to Friday and we are seeing more people than ever getting in contact with us.
“They are referred to us by Social Services, Citizens Advice Bureaux and other healthcare professionals and it is necessary to have a voucher to collect a parcel.
“Since the pandemic we have seen demand rise and it gets higher when the cold weather arrives – people are basically making a decision on heating or eating.
“It is getting more difficult as donations are actually decreasing which suggests more people are finding it hard with the rising cost of living to find that little bit extra to give.
“That’s why we are really grateful to Rossett Hall Hotel for their continued support because we find ourselves needing more and more and that includes other everyday essentials like cleaning and toiletries and there is a real need for these and for baby food, wet wipes and nappies.
“As a Pathfinder food bank, we strive to support people beyond just providing food vouchers. We work closely with referral agents and individuals to help find long-term solutions and partner with other organisations to offer pathways out of hardship and crisis.”
Helen Griffiths, Reception Manager at the hotel, added: “We do always find people are very generous and I joke that I have to stock the shelves and hoard every box I can find and as the donations come in I contact the Wrexham Food Bank and a nice man with a van comes along to pick up from us.”
Rossett Hall Hotel, a four-star Grade Two Star listed building, is part of Everbright Group which has seven hotels, another four in North Wales, the Llandudno Bay, Belmont, Queens, all in Llandudno, and the Wild Pheasant in Llangollen, and two in Cumbria, the George in Penrith and Stonecross Manor in Kendal.
For more information on Rossett Hall Hotel go to https://www.everbrightgrouphotels.com/ and for more on Wrexham Food Bank go to https://wrexham.foodbank.org.uk/