If you have read our previous news, you will know that our 2022 Soilfix Charity donation has been awarded this year to Southend Foodbank, which is part of the Trussell Trust Network.
Steve Jackson and I visited the Southchurch Distribution centre this week to learn more about the Trussell Trust’s work and take a publicity picture with the giant comedy cheque!
Neither of us realised or appreciated the military operation required to run a food bank distribution centre.
Southend Foodbank opened in 2013, supplying eight food banks within the Southend area. The centre is staffed mainly by volunteers and operates six days a week. Christmas week is the busiest time of the year, and we watched in awe as the supermarket food donations were received and quickly sorted into categories.
Each food bank referral submitted to the distribution centre has an allocation of three days of food (breakfast, lunch and dinner) based on whether the needs are for a single individual, couple or family. Nutritional deficiencies, faith-based diets and food allergies are paramount, as well as checking if access to basic cooking facilities or even electricity for boiling a kettle is available. We take these essential functions for granted, although one in five are now living below the UK’s poverty line.
The trust relies heavily on the community’s generosity in donating non-perishable food products through supermarket donation points. The cost to top up these donations with the shortfall in missing products is around £3,000 A MONTH. With inflation and referrals rising, this figure will increase significantly.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP?
Quite a lot.
- Keep donating non-perishable food items to supermarket donation points (this benefits all local food banks, not just Trussell)
- Download the Bank the Food App for your mobile phone
- Donate any spare Tesco Clubcard vouchers via the Tesco website
- Spread the word about how easy it is to help.
By coming together to support our local communities, we help tackle food poverty and ensure everyone has enough to eat.
Change, however small, starts with us.
Many thanks to Natasha and Sarah at Southend Foodbank for showing us around and taking the time to explain how the trust works and showing us the Distribution Centre in full swing!
