A RETAIL giant has donated thousands of pounds of food to Denbighshire foodbanks.

TK Maxx closed all its stores on Thursday, March 19 to ensure staff safety and its Chester Grosvenor branch donated £5,000 worth of perishable goods to the Kings Storehouse in Rhyl based, the Prestatyn and Meliden Foodbank and the Vale of Clwyd Foodbank in Denbigh.

Denbighshire Free Press:

The food donated to the Prestatyn and Meliden Food Bank

Assistant store manager Faye Griffiths alerted her husband Joe Griffiths, an education officer with Denbighshire County Council (DCC), to see if there was any way of getting the produce, which included pasta, rice, tea and coffee, cakes, sweets and Easter eggs, to local foodbanks.

Mr Griffiths, 33, said: “My wife contacted me to say the store was closing and they had a lot of food that the company wanted to donate to foodbanks to support people at this difficult time. So I started to make a few trips in my car to pick up the food. I suddenly realised that the amount of food available would need more than a couple of journeys so I asked my brother if he could come and collect the rest in his van.”

Mr Griffiths - who lives in Deeside but is based at County Hall in Ruthin - contacted the Council to see if a spare van was available to make sure all the food made it to those in need.

He then began to make a number of trips in his car, along with other family members, to ensure the food didn’t go to waste.

Denbighshire Free Press:

Mr Griffiths used a spare truck from the council to transport the goods

Mr Griffiths added:“Once I had it at home we needed a way of getting it to the foodbanks so I asked if the Council had a spare van and they provided one. We ended up filling a full Luton Van with food and dropping it off.”

“I’d like to thank TK Maxx for donating this food which I’m sure will be a comfort to a lot of people during this time. I’d also like to thank Denbighshire County Council for providing the van and staff for us to use to help make this happen.”

Cllr Hugh Evans OBE, Leader of DCC, said: “I’d like to thank TK Maxx and everyone involved for helping ensure this food was delivered to those in need during this time.

“This is a great example of what we can do if we all work together and look after each other and as a Council we were glad to play our part in making this happen.”