Aisling Bea and Friends raise £31,000 for food bank

A weekend of comedy hosted by Aisling Bea, Nish Kumar and Angel Comedy’s Barry Ferns raised more than £31,000 for Hackney Foodbank and collected almost a tonne of food.

The events included a food drive at the Bill Murray Comedy Club on December 21st, with Jonathan Ross, Chris O Dowd, Adam Hill and David Morrissey among those attending. On Sunday December 22nd, more than 1,000 people headed to EartH in Dalston for an afternoon and evening of stand-up comedy by Aisling Bea, Nish Kumar, Sarah Pascoe, Katherine Ryan, Barry Ferns and drag queen Jonbers Blonde.

Jenna Fansa, Head of Fundraising at Hackney Foodbank, said: “Ticket sales from the EartH gigs alone generated more than £24,000 and donations over the weekend topped £6,000. We are blown away by the kindness of Aisling, Nish and the entire team at Angel Comedy – at a time when so many are winding down for Christmas, they pulled out all the stops to create a huge helping of festive joy, while ensuring no-one in our community goes hungry.  We’re so very grateful to everyone who came along to these events and gave so generously.

“Our thanks also go to all the volunteers who helped on the day; from the comedians to the regulars at Hackney Foodbank who all worked together to decorate the comedy club and sort food donations.  This amazing event was a highlight of 2024!”

Speaking to the Evening Standard ahead of the event, Aisling said: “I think at the moment we have a lot of politics leading from power and votes and not from humanity. I’m bereft, as most people are, with the lack of humanity in politics at the moment.”

“Just the fact that we leave elderly people to have to budget or worry about their food is so scandalous in a country that has massive fireworks displays for New Year’s Eve.”

In 2024 demand for Hackney Foodbank increased by 30% - the charity is currently supporting an average of 708 people per week. In the run up to Christmas that figure rose to more than 1,400 people fed in one week.

As well as providing emergency food parcels, the food bank’s team of caseworkers helps visitors escape the root causes of poverty, supporting with benefits applications, referring to a debt advisor and helping with grants for heating, furniture, clothing and more.

To support Hackney Foodbank, visit Donate — Hackney Foodbank