Weston Foodbank is one of the agencies that engages with people at a crisis point in their lives. We want to provide more than food - bringing hope into circumstances that seem hopeless. There is a wonderful “Sharing Community” of people who enable our work to proceed as people share food, their time and their money to enable us to continue our work.
Our “front line” is providing emergency food to individuals and families referred to us as experiencing real needs. In 2018 we expect give away food for 5,000 people – up from 3,600 in 2015. This represents between 15,000 and 20,000 days of food donated through the local community. We seek to extend our work beyond emergency food by providing meals for children in need through school holidays, cookery classes, opportunities to stop and talk and guidance to other support agencies.
Hear a little of Maria’s story (not her real name) who starts: “I would have starved or turned to shoplifting.”
“I had a head full of dreams, a great job, a wonderful man and I was due to have a beautiful baby. We both worked full-time.”
That was before Maria’s life “imploded”. Illness of close family members removed the expected support; costs of childcare almost matched income. The landlord’s sale of the rented family home forced moves into increasingly unsuitable accommodation, financial pressures grew and food in the home became scarce.
Maria’s life circumstances deteriorated, and it was a health visitor who noticed there was no food in the house and issued a Foodbank voucher. Maria recognised the family had been “living in crisis”, but she arrived outside the Foodbank feeling “terrified, alone and ashamed.”
“Walking inside was like the warmest hug; lovely people smiling and welcoming….I felt lighter than I had in years.”
Maria had food in the house, her children engaged with the Foodbank holiday club. “Following this, I met more and more people connected via the Foodbank, a huge community opened up to us and I no longer felt alone.”Maria says “I will always be forever grateful to all of the people of Weston Foodbank. Yes, I received food parcels, but I also received so much more! Friends, a community, a feeling of self-worth and my dignity.”
Maria concludes her story, “You have brought my family back from a very dark place with your cooking workshops, summer holiday club, Christmas club, Easter event and now again your school holiday events. My story isn’t unique, many are suffering in these times. I look forward to the future when one day I will be volunteering alongside you.”