Festival raises £5,216 for Worcester Foodbank

Over the course of three days, volunteers for the Worcester Music Festival raised a staggering total of £5,216.38 for Worcester Foodbank, a charity who supports vulnerable members of the local community.

Each year, the free festival chooses a local beneficiary to support, and for 2019 they chose one that was very close to their hearts. With the recent rise in demand for emergency food due to the rollout of Universal Credit, members of the Worcestershire community are in need of support, now more than ever.

The total raised will provide at least 350 local residents with emergency food for 3 days, preventing those at risk from going hungry. The funds will support the charity’s ongoing work to offer nutritionally balanced meals to those who are in crisis.

The 2019 showcase took place between 13 – 16 September and saw over 250 performances take place. Musicians and artists travelled from far and wide to support the cause, performing their art while encouraging festival-goers to make donations to the charity buckets available in venues, but also to the outrageously dressed charity team who donned a range of incredible fancy dress.

Grahame Lucas, Manager of Worcester Foodbank, said:

“We’re so grateful to everyone who donated during the festival and to the organisers for giving us such a great platform to raise awareness of hunger. It’s a huge boost to our efforts to help the growing number of people who are turning to us for support.”

Nicola Boraston, Festival Director, added:

“We were overwhelmed by the generosity of our festival-goers. This year, our volunteers really have put their heart and soul into organising such a varied showcase of art. From the artists and the sound engineers to charity collectors and promoters, the festival team would like to thank everyone involved for making this possible.”

The cheque was presented at the festival’s photography showcase where winners of this year’s photography competition were also announced. Amateur photographers were invited to share their captured memories from the festival in a bid to win a £100 camera store voucher, kindly donated by sponsors Annie’s Burger Shack.

Sarah Lissemore John came third with her perfectly captured shot of Zilch at the Firefly. Placed second was Nigel Farr’s atmospheric shot of Disrobe, also at the Firefly. And first came Cerys John with a resonating photo of HEY YOU GUYS at The Marrs Bar.