Charlotte BentonWest Midlands
A 79-year-old foodbank volunteer has called being singled out for praise by the prime minister this week “one of the proudest moments of my life.”
George Sutherland, from Telford, Shropshire, has worked for Telford Crisis Support for the last 10 years and said: “Demand has gone through the roof.”
His work was recognised by Sir Keir Starmer in his speech at the Labour Party conference on Tuesday after his name was put forward by the town’s MP, Shaun Davies.
Mr Sutherland said he enjoyed the work he did and added: “It’s my happy place where I feel I’m helping people that have got less than I’ve got.”
Mr Sutherland, who was also nominated by Telford Crisis Support, said he was invited to sit on the front row at the conference in Liverpool and he got to listen to some of the speeches.
He also met lots of other volunteers, who he said were “all similar people with the community at the heart of everything”.
In his speech, Starmer mentioned Mr Sutherland alongside several other volunteers and described him as a person who “delivers food parcels in Telford with a smile”.
Mr Sutherland said the experience was “absolutely wonderful” and “one of the greatest things that’s ever happened to me outside of my marriage and my children”.
But he also said “this is not for me, this is for the Crisis Support”, adding he was “no different from the person that started a few weeks ago”.
Davies, the Labour MP for Telford, said on his Facebook page: “George is amongst the best of us and why I’m proud of our town and proud of our country.
“His commitment has made a real difference locally and I was delighted to hear him named today.”
Reflecting on the last year at Telford Crisis Support, Mr Sutherland said: “It’s getting harder as the cost of food is going up people are finding they’ve got less and less surplus money to spend and to give food to other people.”
But he said his message to those in need was: “If you need help don’t feel ashamed to ask.”
