As people prepare to deck the halls with boughs of holly ready for Christmas this year, a local charity is appealing for people to also fill their letterboxes with gifts of food.
Dianne Roberts, Stratford Foodbank chairwoman, says the traditional annual letterbox appeal, where residents are asked to place non-perishable packets and cans of food in their mailboxes to be collected on a specific evening, is going ahead as planned. The need is greater than ever, she says.
"I have never seen our storeroom so empty. Unless Covid-19 forces us into level 3, we see no reason to abandon our annual appeal."
The appeal will take place on Monday, December 6, starting at 6pm, when people will hear the siren sound. Volunteer runners in high vis vests will then start travelling along the streets of Stratford, collecting donations from letterboxes along the way, she says.
"We really appreciate everyone's kind donations of cans and non perishable packets of food. We appreciated a wonderful collection last year and the need is as great as ever."