“We always look forward to celebrating Volunteers’ Week. It’s a wonderful opportunity to recognise and celebrate the dedicated and amazing volunteers like you, who offer relentless support to people in the community with unwavering compassion and commitment.
But this year has been different to anything we have seen before. When Covid hit, we saw an immediate surge in the need for emergency food across the UK. Lockdown meant that the way in which you deliver your services* had to adapt overnight. As a country, we had to get used to the changes in our daily lives and while this was happening, we needed to ensure that everyone had access to support. Many volunteers were forced to shield, while new volunteers came forward in their droves to help where they could. Collectively, the volunteer movement that you are part of ensured that 2.5 million emergency food parcels were given out between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021 to people in crisis.
So thank you for everything you have done over the past year. In the most challenging of worlds, we have been continuously inspired by your extraordinary contribution. This level of support simply couldn’t happen without people like you, and we’re tremendously grateful.”
