Welsh building contractor J.G. Hale Construction and Newydd Housing Association — currently working on a new housing development at Ithon Road, Llandrindod Wells to build 55 affordable homes — have joined forces, in collaboration with Fareshare Cymru, to provide 2000kg of quality surplus food to Llandrindod Food Bank.
Llandrindod Foodbank opened in 2013 and provides 3-day emergency food supplies for clients within the surrounding community. The charity is currently fundraising to renovate an old building to expand its premises in line with the ever-increasing demand for its services.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fareshare Cymru, part of the UK-wide Fareshare charity, has reported a two-fold increase in their foodbank demand from 1,000,000 meals per week in 2019, to 2,000,000 meals per week in 2020. The charity works with local supermarkets, utilising quality food surplus, to provide meals for 11,000 frontline charities and community groups across the UK.
The partnership between J.G. Hale Construction and Newydd Housing Association has also delivered a number of other community benefits within the local area, including 335 weeks of local new employment and training opportunities. Phase one of the Ithon Road development is due for completion in late spring 2021, with phase two projected for completion towards the end of 2021.
Jason Wroe, CEO at Newydd Housing Association, said: “During these extraordinarily difficult times, it is now more important than ever to support our local communities. We are very grateful to our contractor Hale for supporting us with the Fareshare Cymru project.
“With our Ithon Road development nearing completion, we are very much looking forward to working with the Llandrindod Wells communities in the near future.”
David Harrhy, Managing Director at J.G. Hale Construction, commented: “With the increase in socio-economic challenges resulting from Covid-19, it has been vital to reassess how we deliver our community benefits, ensuring that local not-for-profits and projects with the greatest need are supported within our communities.
“We are grateful to both Fareshare Cymru and our client, Newydd Housing, for supporting the initiative for Llandrindod Foodbank”.
Header image shows members from J.G. Hale Construction and Newydd Homes making a donation to Llandrindod Wells Foodbank. Pictured from left to right are Tessa Bradley from Llandrindod Wells Foodbank, Dai Davies, Andrew Claridge, Andrew Collins all from J.G. Hale Construction, Shannon Maidment from Newydd Homes and Nia Collard from J.G.Hale Construction.
