Why we need to keep supporting our Food Banks and how you can help
Hampstead Parish Church supports two foodbanks – one run by CARIS Haringey as well the Chalk Farm Foodbank . We have all heard about the increasing demand on the resources of food banks. I asked Adrienne who runs the Chalk Farm Foodbank to give us an insight into their work and how they have been affected by the pandemic, and how we can help them. Adrienne writes:
“In 2020, we fed 2260 people (766 children), compared to 1263 people (407 children) in 2019. That’s a huge increase, with the number of children we’re feeding nearly doubled. This is partly due to seeing more repeat visits where we suspect many of our clients are kept in poverty for longer due to the effects of the pandemic on lower income families and those with additional health complications.
The idea of foodbank is that it is a pit stop, a place to fuel up and go forward – making powerful, healthy choices from a place of resource, not lack. So, our aim is to direct people to other agencies and set them up for success so that they flourish and then no longer need a foodbank! However, due to a lack of access to public funds, we are currently seeing more repeat visits from people who are in crisis and desperately need our help. Sadly, some families are having to decide what is more important: food, clothes or rent. But all of these are basic essentials!
We work almost entirely on a donation basis, so we need continued food donations, funding and more volunteers. Donations we are consistently in need of are: juice, UHT milk, baked beans, and shampoo and conditioner. Since some of our volunteers are now returning to work as we come out of the pandemic, we need more people to volunteer just a couple of hours of their time each month to ensure that we can keep serving our community well. We are currently looking for a Volunteer Admin Coordinator, a few more Afternoon Helpers to restock our shelves on a Thursday, and Befrienders to check in on those that are using our service.
To donate money, please visit our website: https://chalkfarm.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-money/
For more information on what food donations we currently need, please visit our social media pages below.
To sign up to our bi-termly newsletter, or for information on how to donate food / volunteer with us, please email: [email protected]
Many thanks!
Chalk Farm Foodbank
Facebook: @chalkfarmfoodbank
Instagram: @chalkfarmfoodbank
Twitter: @chalkfarmfb”