29th June 2020
On June 11th Refresh Foodbank had been serving the people of Dudley for 10 years. Launched in June 2010, Refresh fed 725 people in their first year, growing to 3980 people in 2019. This has only been possible due the dedication and commitment of volunteers like Joy Parkes who successfully ran Refresh for 9 years at The Broadway and now continues to volunteer on a weekly basis at Castlegate, Birdcage Walk, where it moved to in April 2019. Joy states, “This has been an opportunity to share the love of Jesus in a practical way.”
Churches Together in Dudley have been united in prayer and practically giving food and cash donations to support the work of Refresh. During the Covid crisis over the last three months, Refresh have added an extra day and served around 1400 people. The current leaders of Refresh, Debbie Bowen and Angela Smikle say, “We are overwhelmed by the generosity of not only churches but the local people and businesses of Dudley helping to restock the shelves on a weekly basis.” The Refresh team are also grateful to the BCFB Storehouse for their continued support over the last 10 years and acknowledge the value of being part of a charity working across the Black Country to feed people in crisis.
