Queen’s funeral: Trussell Trust defends food bank closures

The Trussell Trust has spoken out to defend a number of food banks in the UK which have faced a backlash following announcements that they would close on Monday for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

The not-for-profit organisation supports a nationwide network of food banks, some of which have made the decision to close on the day of the Queen’s funeral.

Businesses across the UK have been announcing their plans to either close completely or to operate a restricted service on Monday, following the government’s announcement that Monday 19 September would be an official bank holiday to allow people across Britain to pay their respects.

The Stoke-on-Trent food bank was the first to announce that it would be closing three distribution centres as the nation marks the day of the Queen’s funeral, with branches in East Elmbridge, East Grinstead, Grantham, Ringwood and South Sefton following suit.

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All decisions have been made independently by individual branches.

However, some food banks have come under criticism for announcing their plans to close for the day, with the Trussell Trust’s Wimbledon branch making a U-turn following its initial statement which said: “we have decided to allow our staff and workers the opportunity to show their respects”.

It has since deleted that announcement and said it will be open on Monday after it received “overwhelming support” and now has “volunteers to run our Monday session as usual”.

“As a reminder we are not a government service and run solely on people’s donations of time, money and food.”

Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, said: “Food banks in our network run sessions on different days and at different times.

“Food banks are best placed to make the right decision for their communities and will ensure everyone who needs support can access it as they do with every bank holiday.

“As each food bank is an independent charity, we’d encourage people who need support to contact their local food bank to check their opening hours.”

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