A foodbank from which iPads, a hard drive and a £200 Christmas donation were stolen in a burglary has raised five times’ its fundraising goal in 24 hours.
Oldham Foodbank, operated by nationwide network the Trussell Trust, was broken into over the weekend, with the perpetrators taking food and money, leaving the site ransacked and filing cabinets damaged.
Three tablets used to help foodbank users receive emergency payments and a password-protected main hard drive were also stolen.
But a groundswell of community support has seen £5,000 raised within a day of a GoFundMe page being set up to help the facility get back on its feet – smashing its £1,000 target – with more than 200 people donating.
A message on the page left by a volunteer read: “The individual /individuals have taken tablets that were used for referrals...to enable those in crisis to receive an emergency payment. They have taken our main hard drive /PC, all are password protected.
“Alongside the items we need to replace, they have taken around £200 that was donated over the Christmas period which obviously provides much needed funds for the day to day running of the foodbank.”
The stolen tablets were also being used to gather information for a nationwide survey on foodbanks being carried out by Edinburgh University.
The foodbank is now appealing for donations of tinned fish, tinned tomatoes, and long-life milk to help replenish its stocks.
The volunteer added: “We as a charity can little afford the extra costs incurred to replace the more valuable items and office furniture. Any donations will be greatly received and used to help to provide the local community in need and crisis.”
The local community has “really come together to help”, the Trussell Trust told HuffPost UK. A local brewery is among those to have dropped off a food package and will be donating 50p of every pint sold this weekend to the foodbank.
It comes as £2,500 worth of groceries, nappies and sanitary products were stolen from Salford foodbank last August.
Although the services are occasionally targeted, a spokeswoman for the Trussell Trust said foodbank burglaries were not common.
Greater Manchester Police say enquiries are ongoing.