Feed a Family This Christmas: Huge donation of 730 food items for E&S appeal

A staggering 730 items of food have been donated by just one kind-hearted group for our campaign.

The astonishing donation includes 200 tins of soup, 150 tins of baked beans and 20 boxes of cereal as well as bags of pasta and rice and packets of biscuits. The items came from the Lichfield Food Bank, which itself gave out 1,144 three-day emergency food supplies to people in crisis last year.

All of your donations to Feed A Family This Christmas appeal will be shared out between food banks and other charitable organisations across the Black Country and Staffordshire.

We are asking for festive food such as mince pies, chocolates and Christmas puddings, as well as basics including canned goods, long-life milk, fruit juice, pasta and rice. We just ask that festive food has a best before date of the end of January.

Non-food items such as toiletries, new socks and small gifts will also be gratefully received. The appeal runs to December 14.

The good causes we will be supporting are The Well (Home of the Wolverhampton Food Bank), the Good Shepherd Ministry, based in Wolverhampton, the Black Country Food Bank, which has centres across Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall, Smethwick Food Bank, Walsall North Food Bank, and Cannock and District Food Bank.

We will also be supporting The Haven, which helps women and children affected by domestic violence and homelessness.

There are a number of drop-off points where donations can be taken with everything going towards providing families with some extra support this Christmas.

These are:

• Express & Star Wolverhampton head office, 51-53 Queen Street, Wolverhampton WV1 1ES.

• Express & Star Cannock/Walsall office, Queen Square, Cannock, WS11 1EA.

• Express & Star Stourbridge office, 3 Market Street, Stourbridge, DY8 1AB.

Donations can also be taken to:

• Waitrose Wolverhampton, Penn Road, Wolverhampton, WV2 4NJ.

• The Co-operative Food, 28-32 Wood Lane/Bakers Way, Codsall, WV8 1DB (items taken here will go directly to The Well).

• The Co-operative Food in High Holborn, Sedgley, DY3 1SS (items taken here will go directly to the food bank at St Peter's Church, in Kent Road, Gornal).

Click here for the full list of items that can be donated

It has been so well-supported by people in the city that the food bank has decided to help people further afield by donating surplus stock to our appeal.

It will now go towards helping to feed families in need and the homeless in the Black Country and Staffordshire over the festive period..

David Clarke, chairman of the Lichfield Food Bank, said: "We started out in 2014 mainly because of the logistical side of things for people in need of help with food.

"The numbers of those in need weren't comparatively huge when you look at other areas, but they did exist and there was nowhere around here for them to go. We thought that if they couldn't afford food, they couldn't afford travel to Cannock or another area either.

"We have a fair bit of surplus at any given time and we don't really like to sit on food when it can be used. So we thought this appeal would be a great way to help. I would like to thank the people of Lichfield for their generosity."

We've also been supported by the 8th Wolverhampton Scout group which has handed over an array of items leftover from its annual summer camp consisting of hot dogs, spaghetti, cereals, milk and jam. The group has also pledged to hold a separate collection at its group premises over the coming weeks in the hope of donating more items.

Assistant scout leader Alex Neilson said: "This is a very worthwhile campaign. Helping people out at this time of the year is great now it is cold and people need a warm meal in them."

And w have also received support from the Therapy Services department, at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which plans to collect donations from staff at New Cross, West Park and Cannock Hospital.

Businesses have also pledged to back our campaign by hosting donation boxes for workers to drop-off contributions. Inspired Gaming Group, in Showell Road, Wolverhampton, and Guardian Locks & Engineering, in Willenhall, are both helping.

Nicola Lloyd, of Inspired Gaming Group, said: "We thought it was a great cause and we wanted to help support the families." Machialla Worrall, from Guardian Locks & Engineering, said the factory liked to do its bit to help local causes."

Deputy editor Diane Davies said: "The response to our campaign has already been amazing and we are very grateful. We want to help as many people as possible so please, please please donate any food you can to help Feed A Family at Christmas."