24 March 2020
It is with great regret that we have to announce the temporary closure of the Witney & West Oxfordshire Food Bank due to the effects of coronavirus.
With immediate effect, we are no longer able to fulfil vouchers and hand out food parcels.
All of our referral agencies have been informed, supermarkets hosting collection points have been informed, and the Trussell Trust network has been informed in hopes of finding an alternative solution.
We would now also ask the government to tackle the issue of food poverty crisis directly, as we as a charity are at the moment no longer able to do so, as are many other similar charities in our position.
We also can no longer accept or collect donations of food items, as we do not have access to transport or facilities to store these items. Donations received to date are stored in our warehouse for when we are able to re-open, and cash donations will be used to top-up our stock levels at that time.
We will continue to monitor the situation, taking into the legal requirements of the government, recommendations from the heath authority and our parent network the Trussell Trust, and try to find a way to re-open as soon as possible.
We will update our website and social media accounts with more information as and when we are able to operate again, in whatever form that may take.
Thank you for your understanding during this increasingly difficult time.
Regards,
The Trustees
Witney & West Oxfordshire Food Bank
AS OF WRITING North Oxfordshire Community Foodbank and Abingdon Foodbank are still operating should clients have a voucher to use or referring agencies need urgent assistance. We are aware that other Oxford-based food banks are not in operation other than local (Oxford city) delivery only. PLEASE CHECK THEIR WEBSITES and social media as their situations may also change.