Sheffield foodbank expands with help from local builders

As Gleadless Valley Foodbank has become busier, space has become tighter. It’s based at the Methodist Church on Blackstock Road but the basement is so small volunteers have to squat down and the meeting rooms are full of stock.

The foodbank will now have a new floor and a dumb waiter which brings food up from the basement.

Coun Paul Turpin said: “About a year ago, before being elected as a councillor, I was asking people what I could help with in the community. Gleadless Valley Foodbank had plans to put in an extra floor.

“It’s based in the church basement but is only about 5ft high so everybody is bent double and the church meeting rooms have a lot of things stacked up in them.”

He helped the church apply for grants. It received £20,000 and local companies offered their help free or at a discount.

They include James Norton at Robin Ashley architects, Martin Evans structural engineers, Macdonald building company and AA Electrical Wholesalers. Asda and Stannah have helped with providing a dumb waiter.

Coun Turpin added: “Work is starting in a couple of weeks and I’m doing the electrics for them. It’s a real team effort and all the companies have done the work for free or at a discounted rate.

“We would like to say thank you to the companies, it’s a really exciting project.”