Generous Thornton dad donates trolleys of food to Fleetwood food bank

Rick Gilby, 49, lives on The Chase in Thornton, and has spent the last few years raising money for good causes.

The dad-of-two, and IT worker for the Federation of Small Businesses, recently sold raffle tickets to raise money for charity, with one of the prizes set as a food hamper.

But when a friend in Australia won the hamper, Rick and his wife Pam decided to take it to The Pantry in Fleetwood, a food bank used by Fleetwood residents.

Rick said: "My friend won it, but obviously couldn't collect it so told us to keep it. We didn't need the extra food, so we dropped it off at The Pantry.

"We got there and Father John showed us round, and explained to us that the average person is only around four weeks away from needing to use a food bank.

"So I decided to use social media and contact people I knew to see if they could donate some food to them, because so many people are struggling at the moment.

"Within three days we had collected enough to fill my car, I think there were around 15 trolleys of food in total.

"Everything we donated is portioned up, they really know how to make sure no families go without."

The Pantry is the home for the combined Fleetwood Food bank and the Mustard Seed, delivered by the Town’s Church of England and Catholic parishes under the banner of Faith in the Community.

The facility is set to be just one element of the overall building, which was acquired by the Fleetwood Trust for £575,000 in November 2018, with a view to turning it into a vibrant community hub, while retaining some NHS services in the building.

Faith in the Community is operating as part of the Fleetwood Together initiative, to support individuals and families in need. If you or somebody you know needs help, contact Fleetwood Together via their Facebook page, telephone 07903 177240 or email [email protected] .