Foodbank
We opened Hastings Foodbank in April 2012 and have been working together with several other churches in the town to provide food for hundreds of local people facing crisis situations ever since.
There are over 5,500 children living in poverty in Hastings* and for people on low incomes, redundancy, an expected bill or a sudden crisis can mean skipping meals to feed children, pay rent or keep the heating on. Hastings Foodbank provides emergency food and support to local people facing exactly this type of crisis.
How Does it Work?
- Non-perishable food is donated by local churches, schools, businesses, supermarkets and individuals.
- Volunteers from across the town sort and pack food into boxes for single people, small families and larger families.
- Frontline care professionals such as doctors, housing officers and others give Foodbank vouchers to people in crisis – we currently work with around 50 local agencies who can issue vouchers, including Citizens’ Advice, Hastings Borough Council, East Sussex County Council, Xtrax, local schools, and many others.
- Those with vouchers bring them to Hastings Foodbank, where they can exchange their vouchers for enough food for themselves and their families to last at least three days.
- Our volunteers take time to listen and signpost people to other places where they can find support.
Feedback
At one of our supermarket collections for Hastings Foodbank, we spoke with someone who said:
I used the foodbank myself a year ago, when I was homeless and had no food. You guys are doing a really important thing!
This person now has a home and a job and has been able to move on with life after facing some very difficult circumstances.
Later that same day, another person donated an entire trolley-load of food, saying:
It was just a way of giving back after receiving help from the foodbank in the past!
Need Help?
If you are facing a crisis and need help from the foodbank, please visit one of the local organisations that can give you a voucher, such as Citizens’ Advice.
Donate
If you would like to donate food, money or even some of your time to Hastings Foodbank, you can find out more here.
Hastings Foodbank is part of the Trussell Trust’s national network of foodbanks.
*Hastings Borough Council Anti-Poverty Strategy 2011