Party of Wales Gwynedd Councillors' Group

Residents living within the Bangor city boundary who are vulnerable or self-isolating due to the Covid-19 pandemic are being urged to get in touch with Plaid Cymru Bangor’s Councillor Steve Collings (pictured) for emergency food support packages.

Deiniol Ward Councillor, Steve Collings, already organises a free Bangor FoodShare event each Sunday at Plaid Cymru’s Bangor office. But during the Covid-19 pandemic, it soon became clear that some of the supply of surplus food was becoming erratic and individuals couldn’t physically get to the free foodshare location at Bangor’s number 70 offices on the High Street.

“We’ve been running the FoodShare every Sunday for the past two years,” explains Cllr Steve Collings, “where we open the Plaid Cymru office at Bangor High Street between 10 and 12 each Sunday morning, and offer a variety of different foods free of charge

“Not only is this a way of supporting individuals and families who are financially vulnerable and fall through the welfare support benefit and foodbank system, it also ensures supermarket food is not wasted and sent to landfill.

“We are extremely grateful to Tesco and Waitrose for supplying us with the surplus food each week, and I am grateful to my fellow Plaid Cymru Councillors who support me in delivering this service on a regular basis.

Now that Covid-19 and the movement restrictions have has hit the city and the supermarkets are struggling with supply problems, Councillor Collings realised that the Sunday FoodShare was becoming affected by new issues, in terms of accessing to the service and securing supplies to meet the increasing demand.

Councillor Collings contacted Bangor City Council to see if funds could be made available to support a scheme whereby funds could be used to create a small reserve of basic staple foods, such as pasta, rice, flour, sugar, canned vegetables and fruit, which could then be used with the surplus fresh food from the supermarkets. With this extra support the scheme is now able to deliver packages to people across Bangor who are self isolating or facing financial hardship as a result of the crisis.

Bangor City Mayor, Councillor John Wyn Williams said: “We are delighted to be supporting this great initiative by Councillor Steve Collings, during this Covid-19 pandemic. It is vital that each resident within Bangor is not left struggling unnecessarily during this challenging time. We have also supported other initiatives to assist local people during this crisis.

“We are already aware of the commitment Cllr Collings and his fellow Plaid Cymru Councillors have displayed during the past two years, as they organise and share free food for vulnerable families, not able to make ends meet. It is a very sad reflection of our society that both the Tory and Labour Governments are leaving individuals and families feeling isolated and unsupported.

“We will do everything within our power to support Cllr Collings and his fellow Bangor City Councillors in reaching these individuals who need our care and support. Councillor Steve Collings fully deserves the gratitude of the whole city – diolch Steve!”

To order an emergency food package delivery please TEXT your address to: 07436 530217