News

December Newsletter

6th December 2019

 

Click on the image above to view the opening times for our cluster of Lambeth foodbanks. Please note our warehouse will be closed for donations from Friday, 20th December until Saturday, 4th January. Our drop box locations will still be available over the Christmas period.
We currently have plenty of food donations thanks to local generosity during last weekend’s Tesco collection – so if you’re thinking of donating, we’d love for you to donate financially and help us cover the cost of providing vital support to people in our community instead. We have a number of new initiatives to suit your donating preferences including our text to donate service where simply by texting ‘dinner 5’  or ‘dinner 10’ to 70085 enables you to donate the corresponding amount through your phone. Please click on the above image and download our ‘ways to donate’ postcard to see all options available to you.
An enormous thank you to everyone who helped at our recent Tesco Supermarket Collection in Brixton and Streatham. Volunteers braved the cold and rain to hand out shopping lists, transport boxes of food and help at our warehouse. A special mention to our corporate volunteers from Amey, Accenture and Engie for taking the time off work to help. We gathered an incredible 3.3 tonnes of food from generous customers which will make a huge impact as we head towards our busy Christmas period.
Wondering how you can help your local Foodbank this Christmas? Why not join our Reverse Advent Calendar Challenge! Download the calendar from the image above, grab a box & collect items with your friends and family. Donate to the Norwood and Brixton Foodbank before 20th December so that we can distribute to our guests at our big Christmas hamper give-away the following day (it does mean finishing the calendar a few days early). Thank you for your support!
A big thank you to the Brixton badminton club for raising funds for our Foodbank. Not only are these guys accomplished badminton players, but their talents also extend to baking cakes. They ran a bake sale and organised some fun games which helped generate £108 to donate to our cause.
A huge thanks to everyone who baked and donated items for the Norwood and Brixton Foodbank cake sale on Saturday, 30th November and to everyone who helped out on the stall itself. Standing in the crispy cold of Rosendale Road, enticing customers to buy lots of our lovely goods, we raised a massive £628.56 which was one of our highest totals ever. Well done everyone.
When a security box disguised as a tin of tomato soup ended up in the Foodbank harvest donations our staff and volunteers sprang into action. The security box, containing precious items, looked almost identical to all our other tins of soup and so locating it was no easy task. Staff and volunteers sprang into action and thanks to an efficiently run warehouse where all items are dated, we were quickly able to identify the item and return it to its grateful owner. When donating please do check items are in date, have a long shelf life, are unopened and that they are items we need.

We are delighted that there will be a number of bucket collections for our Foodbank organised by the community this Christmas. Streatham Choral, Streatham’s oldest choir, will be performing two concerts on Saturday, 7th December at St Leonard’s church on Streatham High Street. The family friendly matinee will take place at 3pm and the evening concert at 7.30pm. There will also be carol singers in the evening at Herne Hill Station on Monday, 9th December collecting for our work. Finally, to complete the carol theme a collection will also be held at each performance of  A Christmas Carol at South London theatre.

 

As we continue to expand our Foodbank services the need for volunteers is always growing. The launch of our new South London warehouse has created a number of new volunteering opportunities during the week from Tuesday to Friday between 10am-3pm. The role involves processing our donations, sorting shelves and organising our deliveries. We also have a need for drivers with a clean driving licence and who are confident driving around London. If you think you can help in any of these ways please fill in our online volunteer application form.
We’ve had a fantastic response to our Bankuet pilot, including our first donation pictured above. A huge thanks to everyone who has made a purchase or left feedback. We are continuing our trial for the foreseeable future. For those that missed it, this new social enterprise is aimed at making donating food simpler and ensuring the most urgently needed food items will be purchased. Simply click through to the Bankuet website and buy a bundle of food items that our Foodbank has identified as high priority. Bankuet will then deliver it for you to our warehouse.
We have three distribution points across the Borough of Lambeth with different opening times for each. Click on the above image for more information regarding our food distribution points.
To all our fundraisers, our regular and one off donors, all who have been sponsored or have donated food. To those who have helped with supermarket collections, baked cakes, or supported us in any other way this year, a huge heartfelt thank you for your support this year. We wish you a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!
On Saturday, 21st December we will once again be distributing Christmas hampers to our Foodbank guests to help them through the Christmas period. This event is fast becoming one of the highlights of our calendar with hundreds of hampers laden with fresh fruit, veg and Christmas treats added to foodbank parcels. For the children entertainment will be provided at the neighbouring South London Theatre with a whole range of activities available. Volunteers will need to commit to a three hour shift starting at either 9.30am or 12pm. Please email [email protected] by Tuesday, 10th December. We are especially keen to hear from any youth workers that are DBS certified. Thank you.
After launching the Bankuet pilot a few months ago, we’ve decided to embrace technology again by registering with the Foodbank app. The app allows you to view food items that are in short supply and allows us to send a push message to you when we urgently need a particular item. The app is now available for both iPhones and Android phones. It’s free to download, simply go to your App Store and search for Foodbank by Redemption Media.
As the temperature drops we want to ensure our clients are well provided for. That is why we are gratefully receiving new hot water bottles (with covers) to help keep clients warm at night. If you are able to help please drop them off to our Streatham warehouse from Tuesday to Friday between 10am-3pm and on a Saturday between 9-11am.
Our shelves don’t always look as full as this; in fact, there are always a few items that we are especially low on. Click on the above image to view the products which are in short supply.

 

Back to News

Related Posts