SVP Mullingar to ship food vouchers to 400 families

St Vincent de Paul (SVP) Mullingar is this year giving out food vouchers to 400 local families who need financial assistance for Christmas.

The food vouchers supplied by SVP are to be used in local shops.

Branch president Martin Shaw said: “It’s a very tough time of year for a lot of people,” adding that the charity now receives 50 phone calls for help each week. Callers can range from families, to young couples, to single people.

“Most people now are finding it hard to get through Christmas without financial difficulty. There’s very few who aren’t,” said Mr Shaw.

In addition to providing food vouchers, SVP offers a range of other supports to cash-strapped locals.

“We receive a lot of donations of food from people this time of year so we give that back out to communities,” said Mr Shaw.

“We make hampers out of the food donations – a lot of it comes from schools – and give them back out to those in the community who really need help.”

The SVP president said they also help people with bills. “We’re getting a lot more calls from people who need help with their electricity than we had in years before,” said Mr Shaw.

“The prices are hard on everyone; I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been struggling to pay for electricity.

“We’re helping some of these people out and what we’re also seeing now is people in rent arrears who are in need of help.”

He said that calls are “up about 30%” across the board since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Shaw said people shouldn’t be afraid to contact the service for help. “It’s not just families who need it. Some people are above the threshold to receive social welfare payments, but they might be worse off than anyone.

“These people are often reluctant to give us a call but if you are struggling and you need help, you shouldn’t hesitate to ring.”

The charity wouldn’t be able to do what they do without local help.

“The people of Mullingar and the surrounding areas are absolutely incredible,” said Mr Shaw.

“I’d like to thank them for all of their wonderful support over the years, and especially at this time of year.”

The SVP president said the charity is always looking for volunteers to cover “even one or two hours” per week.

Those who are interested in helping out or making a donation can contact the Mullingar branch of SVP directly.