Banbury care home donates to local foodbank

A care home in Banbury has teamed up with a local foodbank to support families in need during the Harvest Festival.

To celebrate this year’s Harvest Festival, residents and team members at Care UK’s Highmarket House on North Bar Place, encouraged the local community to donate their extra, unused or unwanted non-perishable food items to the homes’ very own foodbank drop-off point – temporarily located in the home’s reception area. 

The collected items have now been donated to Banbury Foodbank to support local families facing food insecurities this winter.

Each year, Harvest Festival celebrates the time when crops have been gathered from fields, and people can reflect and show gratitude for the food that they have. It dates to when people relied on local crops for food and farmers would give thanks for a good harvest.

Residents also enjoyed a Harvest Festival service conducted by St Mary’s Church, which covered themes of togetherness and thanksgiving. This was followed by an autumnal feast, including home-made apple crumble, prepared by Highmarket House’s Head Chef, Katarzyna Haber-Bialkowska using ingredients grown in the home’s garden.

Francesca Cowley, Home Manager at Highmarket House, said: “Here at Highmarket House, we’re always looking for ways to give back and support our community and local charities, which is why we were delighted to have partnered with Banbury Foodbank to launch our first ever foodbank drop-off point. 

“Harvest Festival is a day in the calendar where we can reflect and show gratitude for the food that we have, whilst serving as an opportunity to connect with others, regardless of age or background, and celebrate why Banbury is a great place to call home.

“We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who donated to our foodbank drop-off point.”

Highmarket House is a state-of-the-art care home which provides full-time residential, nursing, dementia and short-term respite care. The care home incorporates space for hobby and leisure activities and includes its own cinema, hair salon and café.

To find out more about Care UK’s Harvest Festival, please visit: careuk.com/harvest-festival