March 2021 Newsletter

We are delighted to celebrate with our Project Lead Elizabeth Maytom who received the Lancelot Andrewes medal for her ‘godly service and zeal for the gospel’ earlier this month. The medal was awarded by Bishop Christopher from the Diocese of Southwark and acknowledges the years of dedication and hard work Elizabeth has channelled into serving the community, particularly during this pandemic. Congratulations Elizabeth, this award is well deserved!

We have an exciting new job opportunity for someone to join our team to help provide signposting support and help to those in crisis. The role is part-time and will take forward and develop the signposting support we currently offer to our guests. Full details can be found in this link.

Another short audio story from a Foodbank client sharing the impact your donations have made, particularly when facing the added challenge of the corona virus. Listen to Dorisilla’s recording by clicking on the image above.

The two workman above came to the rescue last week when one of our drivers encountered an obstacle he just could not pass. Delivering a food parcel to an expectant client, our delivery driver approached his destination only to find the road closed due to roadworks. The workmen explained he could not cross and our driver informed them of the nature of his delivery. The helpful workmen then offered to transport all six bags across to the client themselves! They were duly rewarded with some tasty biscuits by the driver. Thank you guys for being so helpful!

By now you will know we offer more than just food to our clients and that we try and offer assistance with additional challenges our clients face. Through conversation with *Harry we learned he had lived in the UK for many years but needed a biometric card processed in order to have his right to work verified. He had a job lined up which would dramatically enhance his circumstances but just couldn’t afford the biometric processing fee. Working with our partners at the Waterloo Foodbank, we obtained the funding needed through Acts 435 where donors fulfil specific requests posted by charities. We really are thankful for this act of kindness that will make such an impact to Harry’s life.

*name changed to protect identity

Best friends Louis and Cameron live on the same road in Clapham and have been best friends since they met at nursery. Now teenagers, they have been stuck at home during lockdown without much to do or many places to go. They came up with the inspiring idea of running the distance of a marathon over 7 days (6km every day) to raise funds for our Foodbank and so during half-term last month, this is exactly what they did. They raised a colossal £1,005! Louis said “We can’t thank you enough for making this project of ours a success; we’d also like to thank you on behalf of the people which your donations will be helping. Given the economic struggles the whole country is going through, I’m sure it will be needed now more than ever”. Thank you lads for such a brilliant idea and for raising such an incredible total for us, despite the personal injuries suffered!

Are you ready to listen to some great tunes while helping to raise funds for the Norwood and Brixton Foodbank? Tune into BMC Radio next Friday, 12th March for their 24hr LIVE charity DJ set from the heart of Brixton! Listen & donate here.

“We were surprised by the size of the operation – it’s huge – and impressed by the efficiency of the volunteers running the foodbank”. This is just one of the quotes from a fantastic piece of photo journalism from the Brixton Buzz which you can read here. Thank you for continuing to highlight the work that we do.

We want to thank Jason Cartwright and his ‘Give Food’ initiative for his consistent support to our Foodbank. The Give Food website is at the core of the Give Food project and allows you to instantly identify your nearest food bank’s needs. It also lists everything you need to know about your local food bank on the ‘what foodbanks need‘ page including shopping lists, latest social media posts, locations and even the nearest MP to write to!

We want to say a big thank you to The Rookery Cafe for your continued support by pledging 25p from every sale on selected tasty treats to our Foodbank. This month they will be donating 25p from every delicious home-made Rocky Road slice that is sold – hurry though, it’s only on the menu for a limited period!

We update our shopping list every week to ensure the items we need the most are available for you to see. Non-food items urgently needed include cleaning products, dog/cat food, toilet rolls, washing up liquid, bars of soap/liquid soap, size 4 nappies and laundry pods. Here is the full updated list of items we urgently need. Thank you for your support.

We had great fun at our virtual volunteers quiz, held as a thank you to the scores of people who give their time so generously to help us every day. Team ‘Chicken Juice Divers’ were crowned the champions after several rounds of topical questions. We couldn’t operate this Foodbank without our hardworking volunteers and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts.

Please note that due to Covid-19, some of our distribution points are currently closed! Drop-boxes are still operating in various local shops across Lambeth. 

Please check our website for the latest information on how and where to donate food.

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 image above and download our ‘ways to donate’ info sheet to see all options available to you.