“I was embarrassed to be there, but the welcome and the understanding and the non judgemental attitude, I felt like I was just picking up some shopping. It was a wonderful experience on a very dark day.”

The words of just one of the thousands of people that Cardiff Foodbank (Banc Bwyd Caerdydd) have helped during increasingly difficult times. The team that run the Foodbank don’t believe anyone in the Welsh capital should have to face going hungry. This is why they provide three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred to them in crisis.

Part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, they joined Localgiving in September 2017.

When they set up the account, they had regular support from Localgiving’s Wales Manager, Lauren Swain and two 1:1 training sessions. Today, they consistently raise so much through online fundraising that they can cover many of their core costs, including employing several staff members.

The charity says that this online fundraising is essential to the sustainability of the organisation, as it provides unrestricted funding to cover these essential core costs, which can otherwise be difficult to find through grant funding.

Since becoming a member of the Localgiving community over £710,000 has been raised from one-off and monthly donations via our platform and they have 509 active monthly donors. They have been using Localgiving as their primary online donation method. They have added the details to their marketing, social media, e-mails and other materials.

Cardiff Foodbank (@CardiffFoodbank) helps and supports those suffering financial hardship and facing the reality of being unable to feed themselves or their families. Food is donated by individuals, schools, businesses, community groups and churches and is stored for future use. Front line professional workers from partner organisations across Cardiff issue vouchers to people who are struggling. These vouchers are exchanged for nutritionally balanced emergency food from eight centres across the city.

In 2020, the charity launched an appeal through Localgiving, encouraging supporters to donate towards the cost of replacing the Foodbank delivery van with a hybrid/electric mode (pictured left). The previous vehicle had recurring mechanical problems – and is vital to the charity’s work in the city, transporting food, picking up from collection points and delivering to 12 foodbank sessions during the week to support people in crisis.

They were aiming to raise £25,000, but the final total was almost £41,000!

Cardiff Foodbank has also seen an increasing number of local fundraisers set up pages to raise money for the charity. A team of 10 people running the Cardiff Half Marathon in 2022 all set up individual giving pages for the event, raising over £4,000. The charity also encourages individuals and businesses who want to raise money to set up pages on the platform – this has involved everything from swim-a-thons to workplace Christmas appeals, birthday collections to a pickled egg-eating challenge!

Since the pandemic, Cardiff Foodbank has raised the profile of their need for finance as well as food – and Localgiving has played a key role in this strategic focus. Cardiff Foodbank is now developingnew areas of work, looking at the reasons that people need emergency food, and developing local projects with partners to address the causes of the crisis. The ongoing fundraising from Localgiving will also help to establish some of this work.

In conclusion, Emma, Project Manager of Cardiff Foodbank told me “Localgiving has given Cardiff Foodbank an easy-to-use online donation platform to help us engage with new and existing donors. Online fundraising is really useful for providing unrestricted funding to cover our essential core costs.”

To donate to Cardiff Foodbank and support their fantastic and important work, click here.