Calls have been made for a foodbank facility to be placed in the Ceiriog Valley to help those in need.

Community agent Davena Davies has suggested the idea which has been supported by Wrexham County Borough Councillor for Ceiriog Valley Trevor Bates.

Davena has already been running a scheme in the Glyntraian area which helps to provide non-perishable food to people in need in the area, but she wants to see a foodbank accessible for everyone in the Valley.

She believes a foodbank in the region could be of help to a lot of people.

“During this lockdown we have helped people out a few times who haven’t been able to get out for food, but also some who haven’t had food,” she said.

“Our nearest foodbank is either in Wrexham or Oswestry. As a community agent, you are permitted to give out foodbank vouchers, but people who may not be able to afford food will struggle to get to Oswestry or Wrexham without money.

“So it’s an idea to have a foodbank here, so that nobody would be without.

“I feel as though it is as important now as it has ever been because of the current situation.”

Davena has delivered food hampers to those in need during the pandemic, and ensures the identity of those being helped is kept private.

She said: “We do offer complete confidentiality and we try to keep matters as personal and private to the person we are helping.

“I would say, as far as the food hampers delivered by me during lockdown are concerned, nobody would even know they had been delivered.

“The idea is that it shouldn’t cause any stigma or embarrassment to anybody, just because of a circumstance they have found themselves in.”

Her idea has been supported by Cllr Bates who has asked for views on the matter before it goes before the community council on Thursday.

He said the initial response to the idea has been promising, and agreed with Davena by highlighting the importance of keeping foodbank use confidential.

He said: “So far I’ve had a lot of people saying they would support it, but I haven’t had anyone say they need it, and that’s the difficult bit.

“We want to make this work in such a way that people feel there is no stigma attached to it.

“We’d want people to feel comfortable using the service and we wouldn’t want any stigma to be attached – we would much rather people feel that they are able to come forward and ask for help when they need it.

“I suspect until we have the facility up and running, we won’t know how much it is actually needed.”