Cardiff communications agency teams up with local food bank

A Cardiff-based communications agency has collected more than 31kg of goods for Cardiff Foodbank to support local people in crisis.

Staff at Freshwater, based at Hodge House in Cardiff city centre, were encouraged to donate essential items – including tinned food, toiletries and household goods. The collections will provide three local people three days’ worth of food.

Cardiff Foodbank is part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by the Trussell Trust. According to the Trussell Trust, close to three million emergency food parcels were distributed across the UK by food banks in its network from April 2022 to March 2023.

Meanwhile, closer to home, Cardiff Foodbank announced in May that it had provided 19,253 emergency food parcels in the Welsh capital during the previous 12 months – the highest number ever and 52 per cent higher than the previous year.

The charity drive was spurred on by Freshwater’s People, Standards and Inclusion (PSI) Group – set up earlier this year to provide staff with a say in how Freshwater works, from the internal events that are run to external charity work and partnerships.

Sarah Whittle, HR and operations director at Freshwater, said: “As an ethical employer, driven by our purpose to Make it Matter, supporting our community has always been a priority for us. We realise that the ongoing economic crisis has impacted other business and individuals, who do not benefit from the Real Living Wage.

“We also recognise that financial challenges, homelessness and in-work poverty, mean that the need for food banks is increasing. Our People Standards and Inclusion Group chose to join in partnership with the Cardiff Foodbank to provide support for our local community with tangible help that can make a direct impact on their day-to-day lives.”

Steve Lambert, chair of the People, Standards and Inclusion (PSI) Group at Freshwater, added: “It was evidently clear from our first meeting that supporting the local community, specifically individuals who are struggling to make ends meet, was close to the hearts of the Freshwater team. Without the PSI Group, this interest in supporting local foodbanks may never have come to light, but instead, we were able to implement an action plan that we hope will make a real difference within our communities.”