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Foodbank
Common Questions:
Below are some common questions that may help with any queries that you may have about the Foodbank initiative. To return to the main CAN DO:413 screen click here
- What is the background of Trussell Trust and Foodbank?
- How does the Foodbank scheme work?
- Where is my nearest foodbank and what are the opening hours?
- How can I donate?
- Where can I get more information?
Q: What is the background of Trussell Trust and Foodbank?
A: The Trussell Trust was founded in 1997 by Carol and Paddy Henderson, using a legacy that had been left by Carol’s mother Betty Trussell. Its initial projects focussed on improving conditions for the 60 + children who were living rough at Central Railway Station in Bulgaria.
In 2000, whilst fundraising for Bulgaria in Salisbury, Paddy received a call from a desperate mother in Salisbury who said to him ‘my children are going to bed hungry tonight, what are you going to do about it?’ Paddy investigated local indices of deprivation and ‘hidden hunger’ in the UK. The shocking results showed that significant numbers of local people faced short term hunger as a result of a sudden crisis. Paddy started Salisbury foodbank in his garden shed, providing three days of emergency food to local people in crisis. In 2004 the UK foodbank network was launched teaching churches and communities nationwide how to start their own foodbank.
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Q: How does the Foodbank scheme work?
A: There are several stages to this process.
Firstly, schools, churches, businesses and individuals donate non-perishable, in-date food to their nearest foodbank. It is also collected at Supermarket collections (volunteers give shoppers at supermarkets a ‘foodbank shopping list’ and ask them to buy an extra item or two for local people in need).
Volunteers then sort the food to check that it is in date and pack them into boxes.
Care professionals (doctors, health visitors, social workers, CAB and police officers) identify people in crisis and issue them with a Foodbank voucher.
Foodbank clients take that voucher to a Foodbank centre where it can be exchanged for 3 days of emergency food. Volunteers meet them over a hot cup of tea and are able to signpost them to agencies that can help long-term.
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Q: Where is my nearest Foodbank if I live in Aston or Nechells and what are the opening hours?
A: If you live in Aston, the nearest Foodbank is at The Salvation Army, Gladstone Street, Aston B6 7NY each Friday between 12.30 pm and 2.30pm.
If you live in Nechells, the nearest Foodbank is at St Matthew’s Church, Duddeston Manor Road, Nechells B7 4JH each Monday between 12 and 2.30 pm. Please note: if you are not eligible for the Trussell Trust Scheme and / or do not present a voucher, we will not be able to provide food for you.
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Q: How can I donate?
A: You can bring food to any of the three churches in our parish (Aston Parish Church, St James, Aston, or St Matthew’s Nechells) and we will pass on the food to the Foodbank centre.
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Q: Where can I get more information?
A: For more information click on this link to go to the Trussell Trust website. There you will be able to download a list of the things that can be donated, as well as read more of the background and life stories that make this charity such an important one.
