Tullamore Lions Club appeals for food for needy families this Christmas

TULLAMORE Lions Club has launched its Christmas Food Appeal, courtesy of Dunnes Stores and Tesco, to support local families in need.

Collections at Dunnes Stores Church Road and Bridge Centre will take place on next Friday and Saturday December 5^th and 6th. Collections at Tesco will take place the following weekend, December 12th and 13th.

Each year, the Club works with community partners, schools, business owners and the generous public to collect non-perishable food items, Christmas treats, and essential household goods.

These donations are packaged into festive food hampers that bring comfort and joy to households experiencing financial strain.

Mike Flynn, the Food Appeal Chairperson, while thanking the wider community for their longstanding generous contributions over the years, is also keen to stress that as everyday food costs continue to rise many more families may struggle, this year, to cope and maybe forced to depend on various charities for basic needs.

He explained that the Lions Club will be grateful for donations of non-perishable foodstuffs of all kinds which will be used to make up hampers. Cash donations will also be gratefully accepted. The money collected will be used to buy shorter-life food that can be added to hampers on the day they are being delivered.

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Members of the public are invited to donate non-perishable food items including tinned foods like beans, peas, salmon or tuna. Cereals including porridge, corn flakes or rice krispies. Soups, pasta, rice, tea and coffee, biscuits, chocolates, soft drinks are all welcome.

The Lions Christmas Food Appeal is an opportunity for the community to come together and ensure that no one goes without a warm meal or a moment of joy during the holiday season.

This year, explained Mike, the club will be highlighting their presence through the introduction of brightly coloured yellow and blue food chests at each store entrance.

“Our target this year is to provide more than 200 nutritious food baskets for needy individuals and families,” he added.

Tullamore Lions Club is grateful to Dunnes Stores and Tesco and the Bridge Centre for generously facilitating their food collection again this year.

The Lions Club works with other community service providers and organisations to identify families most in need. To avoid a needy family being missed out, our collectors will gladly accept names of families in need in our attempt to ensure that families most in need are prioritised.

To enquire about support from the Lions Club eMail: needs@tullamorelionsclub.com

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