February Newsletter

We currently have a wide selection of volunteering opportunities that may be of interest to you. The  available roles include regular commitments alongside ad-hoc positions and feature campaigning, fundraising, cycle delivery, online-selling, poster designing and many more. Do click on the image above to download our list of roles and to find out how to apply. Thanks.

We are delighted to have teamed up with FareShare and are now in receipt of regular deliveries of fresh fruit and veg at our Brixton branch. In the first two weeks we have had onions, bananas, oranges, potatoes, mushrooms, lettuce, chicory and even some meal rations donated by the British Army. With fresh fruit and veg already being provided at our West Norwood branch we are pleased to be able to add more of these healthy items to supplement our food parcels.

We want to thank our good friends and West Norwood neighbours Emmaus for the kindness they have shown by raising £1,500 to support our work. Emmaus is a charity that enables people to move on from homelessness, providing work and a home in a supportive community environment and has had a huge impact in the West Norwood area in which we are based. Proceeds from an entire day’s sales at their West Norwood and Wallington shops were donated, as well as funds raised through a 5k run and a curry night. Thank you so much. If you would also like to fundraise for us we have some exciting fundraising ideas here.

We’re pleased to announce that Bankuet now have two vegan options – the mini vegan bundle and the small vegan bundle – available to purchase from their website. If you aren’t already familiar with the Bankuet social enterprise that offers an alternative method of donating food, you can find further details in the regular items section of this newsletter. As a reminder, items in the Bankuet bundles will always be items that are in short supply at our Foodbank

This is Paula. Paula has five children, one of whom is just a few months old. As a single mum Paula cannot work as she has to look after the children, and since having been rehoused from Southwark to Lambeth, this now also includes a school run to Bermondsey. With the limited benefits Paula receives she struggles to feed all the hungry mouths in her family. She was hugely appreciative of the food parcel received when visiting our Brixton branch recently: “It has been a struggle to support my children by myself. I can’t believe there are people like you to help, I am so happy right now”.

We thought you’d like to find out a bit more about some of the staff that help run our Foodbank and what motivates them to be part of the project. This month meet Jon Taylor, our Brixton branch manager and media co-ordinator. Jon has been employed in his part-time role since 2013, having previously served as a volunteer. After leaving his role working for a TV broadcaster, Jon became responsible for our media and PR as well as managing the Brixton branch. Jon also works for Christians Against Poverty as a debt centre manager. “What drives me to do this job hasn’t changed in the last seven years. I am passionate about empowering people to overcome the difficulties they face. Sometimes they just need a little help and hopefully through our provision, whether food, advice or even prayer, our guests can achieve that goal. A special part for me is the wonderful team of volunteers. The compassion and care they show our guests is quite amazing. I’m very proud to run such a great team!”

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.

After launching the Bankuet pilot, 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.

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.

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’ info sheet to see all options available to you.