Russell Luke
Russell Luke I'm one of the co-founders of Application Performance Ltd.

Instead of Celebrating in 2020, we’re Donating to Food Banks

Instead of Celebrating in 2020, we’re Donating to Food Banks

To celebrate the release of DBmarlin as a GA product, the AP team agreed that we wanted to do something to give back to our communities, especially during the pandemic. We decided that we would each make a donation to our local food bank.

2020 has been an unprecedented year in so many ways, but the rise in the number of people using food banks is alarming. The Trussell Trust reports that food banks are forecast to give out six emergency food parcels a minute this winter and that at the start of the pandemic, around half of people who used a food bank had never needed one before.

So every small action to support food banks right now makes a difference and we hope that this will inspire others to consider donating either money or items to their local food bank this winter.

It also seems very apt to make these donations around Christmas, a time where we tend to focus on excesses and it can be easy to forget that so many people aren’t able to celebrate with a turkey on the table.

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The food banks we supported were:

Cambridge City Food Bank

The Cambridge City Food Bank gave out 9,243 three day emergency food supplies to people in crisis in 2019. This number will likely be much higher this year.

More: https://cambridgecity.foodbank.org.uk

PACT Food Bank Petersfield

In the first nine months of 2020, they distributed 770 packs to 1,222 adults and 689 children. The equivalent figures for 2019 was 230 packs to 349 adults and 146 children.

More: http://www.pact.org.uk/pact_food_store.asp

Wokingham Food Bank

Wokingham is one of the wealthiest towns in England, meaning that it’s also one of the most expensive places to live. This year, the Wokingham Food Bank helped 4,295 people.

More: https://wokingham.foodbank.org.uk/

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Many of these food banks have a list of items that they’re in need of on their website and some require volunteers, so if you’re looking to give back in 2021, this is a great way to have a positive impact on your community.

In the meanwhile, we hope you enjoy a happy Christmas and prosperous new year, and in particular feel grateful for the little things after this challenging year.