Each year, St Ishmael’s Parish (which consist of three churches St Thomas’s, St Ishmael’s and All Saints) organises Lenten Lunches during the six weeks of Lent held in St Thomas’s Church, Ferryside and monies raised are donated to various charities chosen by the Parochial Church Council. This year it was decided that the chosen charity would be Carmarthen Foodbank which is part of the Xcel Project in Johnstown.
Members of the church supported the event by preparing food, making soup or serving each week and the Lunches raised a fantastic £314.00. The money was spent purchasing essential food items for the Foodbank to be given out to people and families within Carmarthenshire who have found themselves in crisis. St Thomas’s Church and its community members have supported Carmarthen Foodbank for the past three years by providing a food bin for donations which can be found in the porch of the church.
Judy Pawluk, Carmarthen Foodbank Manager commented: “We were very touched to be selected as the charity to benefit from St Thomas’s Church Lenten Lunches this year and the amount raised was incredible. We have over 60 organisations in and around Carmarthen who send people to us in desperate need of food for themselves and their families and Carmarthen Foodbank fed over 1848 people in 2015 alone therefore all donations are essential and very much appreciated. We’d like to thank everyone at St Ishmael’s Parish who contributed to this excellent event and to everyone who made a donation”.