From a Beatles cover gig to epic bike rides - Sheffield folk fundraising to support families in need via S6 Foodbank

A Beatles covers gig and a coast-to-coast bike ride are just two of many fundraising events taking place this Spring to support the foodbank’s vital work to support families in need from all across Sheffield, via their 11 foodbank sites.

First up, people are being encouraged to attend the Beatles covers gig, from local band Redback, taking place at Crookes Social Club on 20th May. Redback are billed as ‘possibly the best covers band in Sheffield’, and the evening promises to be full of great music, while raising vital funds to support the foodbank’s work. Tickets are available from https://www.wegottickets.com/event/578940

Just a few days later, members of the East Suffolk Cycling Club, are hoping to complete a grueling 580km ride from Salcombe, Devon to Aldeburgh, Suffolk to raise £10,000 in aid of the Hillsborough-based foodbank charity.

Giles Holloway recently helped launch the latest S6 Foodbank site in Abbeydale at Common Ground Community Centre and has involved his brother-in-law, a member of the cycling club, in his epic fundraising efforts.

He said: “The idea is to get from a south coast to a north coast and a west coast to east coast to highlight the disparity of prosperity and poverty between regions and cities.

"In Sheffield, there is a particularly big disparity between life expectancy from the wealthier West of the city to the poorer East. As we cycle East through Exeter, Bristol, Oxford, and Cambridge we hope to highlight that fact and raise as much money as possible.”

People can support the cyclists, here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/giles-holloway-1679946246753

Sheffield S6 Foodbank recently revealed that between April 2021 and March 2022 the foodbank supported over 50,000 people for the first time in its history, of which 19,837 were children. These figures equate to 1,152,000 meals, or 484 tonnes of food distributed by the charity, and represent a 28% increase compared to the previous 12-month figure.

Sheffield S6 Foodbank manager, Chris Hardy, said: “The support we see across the community for people on the lowest incomes is incredible. But it shouldn’t be needed.

"We should all be free from hunger. No one should be pushed deeper into poverty without enough money for the things we all need. It’s not right that anyone in Sheffield needs our food bank in the first place - everyone should be able to afford the essentials.”

People can stay up to date by following on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, at @s6foodbank, or by visiting the S6 Foodbank website at https://sheffields6.foodbank.org.uk/.