Standing Strong Together 

This Autumn, we brought together representatives from our many food bank partners at our hub to reflect on the challenges and opportunities ahead. 

We are seeing more people turning to our food banks for help, while donations – both financial and gifts in kind – have dropped. To ensure every guest receives at least emergency support, some food banks have had to reduce what they can give or limit the availability of certain items. 

Following discussions and consultations,  we’ve sharpened our focus on specific essentials such as: 

• Tuna, tinned tomatoes, pasta, rice, pulses 

• Coffee, laundry capsules, milk, eggs, and cooking oil 

Our food bank managers highlighted their key needs, and collectively, we’re making other thoughtful changes, such as changing the formats of certain products that we provide to match the cooking facilities available to food bank clients and changing pack sizes for others (such as flour from 1.5kg bags to 500g packs), to make sure more families get what they need. 

This is all links to our aim to procure products more strategically.  

One inspiring moment in particular came from the meeting when we learnt that out of all the managers present, only two were actually employed in their roles. The rest are volunteers, giving their time and energy to serve their communities. Their dedication is extraordinary, and it’s only possible because of the support you provide. 

Your generosity keeps our shelves stocked and our doors open. Every gift – whether financial or in kind – helps us meet rising demand and ensures dignity and care for those who need us most. 

Thank you for standing with us. Together, we are making a difference.