The team receiving their certificate and prize

Tracey Blandford, from Love Walton, presented teams from Walton & Hersham Foodbank and The Bridge with a certificate for being voted joint winners of the ‘Best Dressed Christmas Window 2023’ competition. Thank you to everyone who voted for our window!

The certificate will be proudly on display at The Bridge, located in Bridge Street, Walton on Thames.

Thank you to James Neave Estate Agents for sponsoring the window. We are happy to let you know that all the little elves were given to the families who visit The Bridge and Walton & Hersham Foodbank.

Nina Malyon, Manager of Walton & Hersham Foodbank says,

“We were delighted to come joint first in the competition. It was a lovely community initiative but also a great way to raise the profile of The Bridge and the support we are offering local families.”
We are experiencing an unprecedented increase in the number of people being referred to us for emergency food support. We had anticipated a spike in demand due to the cost-of-living crisis but the number of people we are currently helping is much higher than we could ever have predicted.
We are acutely aware that we cannot keep ramping up the service indefinitely which is why we are focusing on involving more support services, particularly at The Bridge, to look at ways that we can help people out of crisis."

This January, in an average week, the foodbank fed 128 people. In January last year, they were feeding an average of 83 people per week. The increase in demand is clear.

The Bridge and Walton & Hersham Foodbank can only operate with the help of their team of volunteers and with kind donations of food and cash from our local community.

To find out how you can help, click here.

The Bridge wins best-dressed Christmas window 2023