Letterkenny Food Bank volunteers have reached out to flooding victims this week as they come to terms with the massive losses suffered on Tuesday night.
As the only food bank in Donegal, the volunteers had no premises in Inishowen to base themselves. Instead, two team members loaded up their van with food parcels and travelled to Burnfoot to meet with residents outside of their destroyed homes.
Speaking to Donegal Daily, Secretary of We Care Food bank Ann O’Kane said; “We don’t have a base in Inishowen, and knowing that people were in need two team members drove up to Pairc An Ghrianain in Burnfoot on Wednesday evening.
“They weren’t sure if anyone would be there, but there were people standing there in shock, assessing the damage caused to their homes.
“The two team members kept getting flashbacks of the scenes they saw in Burnfoot after they went home, wean’s toys and happy homes destroyed. The scale is just unbelievable.
“The people were very grateful for the help, a lot of the people our team members spoke to hadn’t eaten since the day before,” she said.
Seventeen families in Inishowen have been left homeless following the torrential flooding, with over 150 homes and 50 businesses being affected.
“A lot of the people are still in shock so they may not have an appetite, but you need to eat. They were just so grateful that someone thought of them.
“Some were staying with relatives, but they need extra food too.
“They have lost everything, so the last thing on their mind would be putting food in the fridge. They may not even have a fridge anymore, or be very wary of plugging in anything electrical due to the amount of water damage in the area.
“It’s a disaster on our own doorstep.”
The only food bank in the county, We Care LK Foodbank supplies people across Donegal with food.
“We are hoping to establish food hubs across the county. We’ve travelled to Killybegs, Carrigart, and Gweedore, but we need something more permanent in these areas as well as Inishowen.”
As Burnfoot does not have a community centre, they are hoping to find a place in which they can continue providing these services to flooding victims.
The Food Bank is appealing for donations of non-perishables, including pasta, rice, sugar, tea bags, canned goods, tinned meat and tinned fish etc.
They have several drop-off points including; Letterkenny Community Centre, Black’s Centra, SoLo on Pearse road, and Mac’s Mace.
“If you are in any of these shops we’d really appreciate it if you picked up an extra tin of food at the checkout.”
If you are in need of food bank services please don’t hesitate to call 087 147 1325 or 086 305 3966.
You can also get in touch with them through Facebook.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is in Donegal this evening to meet with affected residents and public representatives.
Thirty Defence Forces personnel are also in Inishowen, helping locals in a major clean up operation.
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