VEKA plc, the UK’s leading uPVC window supplier based in the heart of Burnley, has donated £3200 to local foodbanks helping provide meals for children throughout the Christmas holidays.
Khaleel Mahmood, Head of Commercial Support at VEKA led the initiative having been part of the NCM Foodbank since 2019.
Khaleel’s involvement in supporting and helping the foodbanks in the Burnley area began when he read a report outlining that almost half of the children in Pendle live in poverty. Since then, he has dedicated much of his time to raise awareness of the foodbanks and help the people that need them.
Khaleel said of the donation:
“Our donation will mean that over the Christmas holidays we can provide meals every day for 14 days helping in a small way alleviate some of the pressure families are facing over Christmas. The meals will specifically support children experiencing food poverty in the Pendle and Burnley area. Working with local foodbanks and in particular NCM Foodbank over the past year has shown me the huge pressure some families are under and I wanted to do everything I could to help; including getting VEKA involved.”
“At VEKA we see ourselves as part of the community, we’re Burnley through and through. The Marcus Rashford campaign highlighted the importance of providing local children with free school meals and we wanted to help.” said Gabriela Hammond, Head of HR at VEKA plc.
The VEKA contribution will enable Burnley FC in the Community, the Burnley Community Kitchen Foodbank and the NCM Foodbank to support almost 200 local families and bolster the food parcels with some festive items to bring a little Christmas cheer.
A picture containing food, indoor, different, several
Description automatically generatedThe Burnley Together Christmas Appeal will support the families over the two-week school holiday period. These are families who have been identified by schools as being at risk of experiencing holiday hunger over Christmas.
During the pandemic, demands for foodbanks have further increased. Local foodbanks support members of the community providing a range of services from a temporary stop gap to delivering regular goods and essentials to people who need long term support.
Since lockdown commenced on 23rd March, the local foodbank has fed over 7,000 people, over 3,000 of these have been children.
