Two luxury care homes in Hampshire and Wiltshire are forging links with local foodbanks in an ongoing project to support their communities.
With the cost-of-living crisis biting deep this winter, the Amesbury Abbey Group (AAG) – which owns both Amesbury Abbey in Wiltshire and Sutton Manor in Hampshire – got together with residents and decided to donate £1,000 to their local foodbanks instead of giving out individual Christmas gifts.
To find out more about the work done in their communities, AAG MD Naomi Cornelius-Reid invited managers from both Andover and Salisbury Foodbanks – part of the Trussell Trust’s network of 428 foodbanks across the country – to visit Amesbury Abbey and Sutton Manor to talk to the residents.
Jenny LeLean, Andover Foodbank manager, said: “Without the help foodbanks provides, many local people would go hungry.
“Our teams are passionate about trying to ease food poverty in our communities, and we really appreciate the support of local business and organisations like the Amesbury Abbey Group.
“We can’t thank them enough for their donations and their interest in the work we do.”
Mrs Cornelius-Reid said: “Our residents were fascinated to hear first-hand about the scope of the vital work carried out by the foodbanks to help those in need and find out what more can be done.
“Donating money at Christmas was a good start, and we are keen to carry on supporting the foodbanks in future through fundraising events and donations.”
Amesbury Abbey in Wiltshire and Sutton Manor in Hampshire are both owned by the Amesbury Abbey Group, founded in 1972 by Winchester nursing sister Mary Cornelius-Reid MBE, who pioneered the concept of luxury retirement living in Britain.
Luxury independent retirement living is offered in properties sitting in the grounds of Amesbury Abbey and Sutton Manor, with nursing care also available in both the main houses.