13 million people live below the poverty line in the UK...
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Every day people in the UK go hungry for reasons ranging from redundancy to receiving an unexpected bill on a low income.
Swale Foodbank opened in 2012 and provides a minimum of three days emergency food and support to people experiencing crisis across the borough of Swale. Between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2019, the Trussell Trust's food bank network distributed 1.6 million three-day emergency food supplies to people in crisis, a 19% increase on the previous year. More than half a million of these went to children. The coronavirus epidemic, rising costs of food and fuel combined with static income, high unemployment and changes to benefits are causing more and more people to come to foodbanks for help. Hope Church Sittingbourne are a partner church for Swale Foodbank, supporting its operation with volunteers, its strategic leadership through an appointed trustee, through food donations, and to a small degree financially. HOW A FOODBANK WORKS FOOD IS DONATED Schools, churches, businesses and individuals donate non-perishable, in-date food to the foodbank. All food given out by foodbanks is donated. ‘Supermarket Collections’ are one of the main ways that food is donated: These are food drives held at supermarkets where volunteers give shoppers a ‘foodbank shopping list’ and ask them to buy an extra item or two for local people in crisis. FOOD IS SORTED & STORED Volunteers sort food to check that it’s in date and pack it into boxes ready to be delivered to the Swale Foodbank Centres, and then available to people/families in need. FRONTLINE CARE PROFESSIONALS IDENTIFY PEOPLE IN NEED Care professionals such as doctors, health visitors, social workers, CAB and Children's Centres identify people in crisis and issue them with a foodbank voucher. CLIENTS RECEIVE FOOD Foodbank clients bring their voucher to a Swale Foodbank centre where it can be redeemed for three days emergency food. Volunteer advisers meet clients over a cup of tea and are able to signpost people to agencies able to solve the longer-term problem. Swale Foodbank runs four hubs which enable clients to access the service at key points and days in the week.. Locations and details of opening times are shown on the Swale Foodbank website, accessible by the links below. |
Big thanks to our friends over at NET Church Sittingbourne for giving us permission to use this clip.
Between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2019, the Trussell Trust's food bank network distributed 1.6 million three-day emergency food supplies to people in crisis, a 19% increase on the previous year. More than half a million of these went to children. |
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