Thank you very much to all the donors at the Islandmagee Presbyterian Church Harvest Festival Service, who gave food and other non-perishables and also donations of vouchers and cash to Whitehead Storehouse.
Whitehead Storehouse is really grateful for all the amazing support received this autumn, which will let us help those in need locally this winter, including Islandmagee, Whitehead and Ballycarry.
Many thanks to the pupils, parents, carers and teachers at Ballycarry Primary School who donated non-perishable items to Whitehead Storehouse to help those in difficult circumstances. All these items are gratefully received and will be used to help people in need this winter in Ballycarry, Whitehead and Islandmagee with an emergency food parcel.
Autumn is a time of harvest and gratitude for food to last through the coming winter until the new growth.
Whitehead Storehouse is very grateful to all those who donate to help them provide emergency help to local people in need.
A huge thank you to all those who donated at the Islandmagee Harvest Festival Service. The donations have been passed to Whitehead Storehouse, the independent food bank for Whitehead, Islandmagee and Ballycarry and will be kept safe, ready for emergency food supplies to be provided for those in need in the local area.
We all know that food costs have risen steeply in the last few months and that heating has become even more costly, with oil, gas and electricity prices rising sharply. For those already in difficult economic situations, the coming winter will be even harder, with some people facing thorny choices between heating and eating. Whitehead Storehouse is very grateful for all donations that will allow us to help those in short term crisis with emergency food packs that will help them over a difficult patch.
UPDATE
A very generous financial donation has also been made from the Harvest Collection by Islandmagee Methodist Church. Very gratefully received. Thank you very much.
The Church of Ireland in Whitehead and Islandmagee asked those at the annual Harvest Festival Services this year to donate non-perishable items to Whitehead Storehouse, providing a list of the most needed items. St Patrick’s Church held their Harvest Service on 2 October 2022. St John’s Islandmagee is to hold their service on 16th October.
Donations from St Patrick’s service have now been delivered to Whitehead Storehouse and will be stored there, ready for emergency food supplies to be provided for those in need in the local area.
As everyone has no doubt noticed, fuel supply costs (oil, gas, electricity) are increasing sharply. This is on top of steady increases in the cost of food and other items from the shops. More people may well be faced with “Heat or Eat” decisions this winter than last year and Whitehead Storehouse is extremely grateful to those who donated items that can be used to provide emergency food packs to local families facing a short term crisis, for whatever reason.
Lighthouse Bistro
Grateful thanks to The Lighthouse Bistro, Whitehead, its customers and to Erica Lutzman for organising a fundraiser on behalf of Whitehead Storehouse. Over £200 was raised in the short space of 3 hours, every penny of which will go to help economically deprived residents of the local area.
With the cost of living and the cost of heating rising for everyone, this is going to be a hard winter for many, who will struggle to stay warm or feed their children. It also means that donors may well be finding the economic situation harder, so we are extremely grateful to all those who donated and of course to the Lighthouse Bistro for organising the fundraiser.
Whitehead Storehouse is an independent food bank. It provides confidential help to individuals and families in urgent, emergency need of food or other necessities in the Whitehead, Ballycarry and Islandmagee areas.
We offer short term emergency help with food and other necessities to those in economic difficulties, with the aim of tiding them over an immediate crisis, so they can eventually leave their difficulties behind. We have helped a number of people over the past number of years. Whitehead Storehouse is not associated with any other food banks and does not have opening hours, nor do you need a referral from any other agency to contact us or to receive help. You can contact us by phone or text at 0759 621 3763 or by email to whiteheadstorehouse@gmail.com .
We also work with local large stores and supermarkets who provide us with food that has reached its sell by date but is still OK to eat. We distribute this weekly or less often, depending on what and how much is available and the calls for help that are being made.
Help is based on your needs, nothing else. We do our best to distribute our resources fairly and equitably, to help the greatest number of people possible.
If you are finding it difficult to manage financially at the moment and need help with food or other necessities, please get in touch in complete privacy by phone or text at 0759 621 3763 or by email to whiteheadstorehouse@gmail.com .
We are not in a position to offer long term financial support but are happy to point you to other agencies that may be able to help if needed.
Any help you receive from Whitehead Storehouse will be kept confidential.
Many people in Whitehead, Ballycarry and Islandmagee are struggling to make ends meet because of the current lockdown. If you are in this position, please contact Whitehead Storehouse on 07596 213 763 or email whiteheadstorehouse@gmail.com. We will be able to order extra food for distribution over the next couple of months. This will be completely confidential so please do get in touch.
We also have some Keepwarm packs with blankets, fleeces, thermals, etc. If you feel you would benefit from one, again please contact us.
It’s great to see that Whitehead Storehouse has received two lovely comments recently.
One was from someone who received a Christmas parcel last year but doesn’t need one this year because they now have a job and are in a much better place but said they were so grateful to receive the parcel last year as “it really helped”.
The other is an email from someone who received a parcel this year and said, “thank you so much for the wonderful box just delivered to me. Its very much appreciated and welcome in these difficult times.”
Whitehead Storehouse could not help anyone without YOUR help. Thank you so much to all the residents and businesses of Whitehead and further afield who have contributed food, money, vouchers, gifts and time that have enabled the Storehouse to help those who are disadvantaged.
During the corona virus emergency, Whitehead Storehouse will coordinate volunteers and can act as a central point for arranging deliveries of food and other necessities where necessary, to those who are self isolating and unable to use the local shop delivery services. Local shops have let us know that they will do deliveries. Business names and phone numbers for calling to purchase goods and have them delivered can be found by clicking here.
Although a number of shops have said they will deliver goods to customers, there may still need to be some volunteers to help with this, if the numbers requiring deliveries get too high for the shops to manage. Volunteers who wish to help with deliveries to those who are self isolating or unable to go to the shops to get food, should email Whitehead Storehouse at Whiteheadstorehouse@gmail.com and provide the following information:
Whitehead Storehouse is the Food Bank for Whitehead, Islandmagee, Ballycarry and Eden. It will remain available to provide emergency food supplies to disadvantaged people in these areas.
During the current emergency, the Storehouse will open for one hour from 7pm to 8pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 12 noon to 1pm on Saturdays, starting Saturday 21st March 2020, to receive donations for the food bank, which is running low on essentials for those who need emergency food bank supplies. Cash donations can also be accepted. The Storehouse is located at the Pastoral Centre at Lourdes Church, Victoria Avenue, Whitehead. Donations can also be left at the Spar Whitehead and Islandmagee.
If you need food urgently and cannot afford to feed yourself or your family, the nearest food bank for people of Whitehead, Islandmagee and Ballycarry is the Whitehead Storehouse, in Whitehead, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Call or text in complete confidence on 0759 6213 763. Or you can email whiteheadstorehouse@gmail.com. You will get a call back or a text or an email within a few hours from one of our volunteers. We may also be able to help with some other needs.
If you are able to help us with providing food for those in need, you can donate in-date, non-perishable food at any church, the community centre or the Spar shop on Edward Road, Whitehead. Donations also gratefully accepted.