Worthing Food Foundation forms long-term partnership with Boom! credit union

The foundation, formerly East Worthing Foodbank, helps families that are struggling to pay for essential food, and since March, has supported more than 200 people a week through lockdown.

Graham Mayes, Boom! manager, said: “As an organisation, we are committed to being responsible lenders and making life better for our members and our communities. This is why we were keen to reach out and support the Worthing Food Foundation and the residents who use them.

“We have more than 8,000 members and have provided more than half-a-million pounds in affordable loans to local families since the start of lockdown, all of whom now save regularly.

“Boom! is continuously evolving as we aim to ensure that our fair and safe alternative to high-interest credit can be accessed by as many people as possible. We recently launched a new loan for key workers and our Family Lift-Off Loan gives families access to credit using child benefit. We now want to be able to support Worthing Food Foundation in a way that best supports its clients.”

Boom! is a not-for-profit credit union for people who live or work in Worthing, giving them access to affordable loans, savings accounts and prepaid cards. It will maintain close ties with the foundation as it develops its services, giving foodbank users access to much-needed further support.

Caroline Baxter, from the foundation, said: “We really appreciate this incredible generosity. Going forward, it’s going to be so important for organisations in the town to work together to support people who are struggling to afford the basics.

“This donation and future collaboration will be a real lifeline for some of the families we support with food.”

Volunteer Su Turley said the donation would make a real difference to the many families who are struggling to make ends meet.

For support from Worthing Food Foundation, telephone 01903 442149 or fill in the Worthing Food Foundation enquiry form

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.