Holiday Park Charity Donation
Caistor Food Bank stays afloat thanks to holiday park’s £12,000 lifeline. A threat to the future of a Lincolnshire charity fighting food poverty has been lifted after a local holiday park stepped in this month with a vital funding injection. The two families who run Watermill Leisure Park near Market Rasen said they felt they couldn’t stand by as Caistor Food Bank struggled with its finances and made an amazing holiday park charity donation.
£12,000 Holiday Park Charity Donation
The park’s £12,000 donation will ensure that the food bank will not be forced to charge for the food it currently provides at no cost to people in need.
The imposition of a charge loomed after the government recently withdrew its funding for food banks, meaning many are now having to ask families to pay up to £5.00 per visit.
“We would have deeply regretted having to ask people in food crisis to put their hands in their pockets,” said Caistor Food Bank Manager Brian Milne.
“Most are already in financial hardship and are referred to us by social services and other local agencies because they simply can’t afford to feed themselves and their families.
“People can also come to us directly, and our volunteers will assess their needs and give them free access to food items donated by local people and retailers.
Generous Donation to Food Bank
“This generous gift from Watermill Leisure Park means we can continue our critical work which last year helped feed over 3,000 people, a third of whom were children,” said Mr Milne.
A former North Lincolnshire Divisional secretary for SSAFA (Soldiers Sailors Airman Family Association), Mr Milne set up the food bank in 2021 after ill health forced his retirement.
He and his wife are both volunteers like the rest of the food bank team, and have received the enthusiastic backing of West Lindsey District Councillor Tom Smith.
Park co-owner Simon Clarke said his business adopted a different charity every year, and that in 2024 Caistor Food Bank became an obvious candidate after losing its government funding.
His business partner Ben Caplan agreed, and the two men vowed to raise £1,000 a month to help ensure that people suffering a food emergency could continue to receive free help.
Award-Winning Holiday Park
The two partners and their families bought the park five years ago, and have since invested much time and energy into creating five-star surroundings for luxury holiday lodge owners.
Watermill Leisure Park is set in 55 acres of Lincolnshire Wold countryside and includes three award-winning fishing lakes which are a magnet for wildlife.
It also benefits the natural world with extensive wildflower meadows where high nectar-bearing blooms provide vital foraging for honey bees, butterflies and other pollinators.
In addition, the park’s surrounding woodlands provide many wildlife habitats and food resources for species including deer, hedgehogs, badgers and visiting and resident birds.
“We feel very privileged to be able to help this very worthy cause which does so much to reach out to those in food poverty,” said Ben Caplan.
“Just as importantly, it also helps identify people with other issues such as debt and housing needs, and can refer them to organisations in a position to assist,” he added.
