On Monday, 28th October 2024, the annual Festive Food Bank Appeal, coordinated by Aneurin Leisure Trust’s Sports Development Team began. The fourth consecutive year of the appeal saw 11 different sports clubs work collaboratively, with the main aim of supporting food insecurity across Blaenau Gwent.

Since the beginning of the appeal in 2021 which saw 4 football clubs come together, the ever-growing support and overall success throughout each year has enabled different sporting clubs to join the campaign, and ultimately help support more food banks and community houses across the borough. The 11 sports clubs involved within the 2024 appeal were:

• Abertillery Bluebirds Football Club

• Abertillery Excelciors Football Club

• Blaina Community Sports Club

• Ebbw Vale Netball Club

• Llanhilleth Athletic Football Club

• Llanhilleth Rugby Football Club

• Nantyglo Football Club

• RTB Ebbw Vale Football Club

• Tillery Netball Club

• Tredegar Netball Club

• Tredegar Town Football Club

  Sports development supervisor, Hannah Winmill, added “It’s fantastic to see the growth and success of the Festive Food Bank Appeal over the years. The clubs take real ownership in collecting donations from members, players, parents/guardians, and the local community, to provide as much support as possible to the appeal.”

This year’s appeal also benefitted from the partnership with David Spear Commercial Vehicles, who kindly donated a vehicle to support the collections from the clubs, and the deliveries to the food banks and community houses across the county. The second year of support from David Spear has contributed immensely to the success of the appeals year-on-year.

Sales executive, Lewis Parfitt commented “It’s a huge privilege for David Spear Commercial Vehicles to support such a positively community impacting campaign, and we’ll continue to help in whatever way we can in the future.”

Week commencing 9th December, the mass collection began, where over the course of a few days, all items were organised into specific categories including tinned fruit and vegetables, beans and proteins (meat and fish), soups and stews, rice, pasta and pasta sauces, cereals, condiments, toiletries, and festive items. The collections were then transported to the following 9 locations:

• Bryn Farm Community House

• Cefn Golau Community House

• Coed Cae Community House

• Cymru Creations

• Ebenezer Baptist Church

• Gwent Valleys Evangelism

• Tirzah Baptist Church

• Waundeg Community House

• Willowtown Primary School - Big Bocs Bwyd

A volunteer at one of the venues above told us “Times are difficult for many families and individuals, especially over the winter/festive period, where we are witnessing an increased demand for emergency food parcels. The incredible donations that are provided from this appeal enable us to sustain the support for a longer period, and help more and more people that are in need, thank you!”

The sports development team would like to say a big thank you to all the sports clubs involved this Christmas, to David Spear Commercial Vehicles, and of course to everyone who had donated to the overall appeal. Working collaboratively together to tackle food insecurity is one example of how partnership working contributes to Aneurin Leisure Trust’s aim of Improving Community Life, within Blaenau Gwent.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!