The brief was to design a carry box for use within the warehouse that could be used for transporting food to the distribution points. As the client, we at Swindon Foodbank where looking for strength, ease of use, clear labelling and longevity of use. 

The students certainly rose to the challenge. Having pitched their designs to a gruelling Dragons' Den style judging panel it was obvious that choosing the winner was not going to be easy! 

In the end a joint winner was decided upon and the super box, an amalgamation of the two winning designs, was settled upon.

All involved

The winning teams were “Jak Tac” (team members Fraser Nutland, Sam Powers, Jacob Topp and Aaron Chaplin) and “The Cardboard Cutouts” (made up of Ryan Henderson, Eric King, James Barter and Joshua Bunyan). 

Each team member won £100 in prize money, obtained a certificate and trophy, and were also awarded a unique “corrugated cardboard cup” designed by Stephen Mann – a GWP designer who also acted as a mentor at various stages of the project. The runners up, “The Super Awesome Amazing Space Pirates Limited”, were also awarded trophies and £50 each.

Lee Thompson Foodbank Project manager and David Pedley GWP director

Once again this event was amazingly popular amongst all ages, with 13 lanes vying for the coveted titles on offer. Thank you to all those who supported the event, you are all winners in our eyes!

The titles for the evening where as follows.

• Best Junior:   Bailey Gallagher - 195 points
• Best Female:  Tracey Barber (Devizes Road Mob) - 208 points
• Best Male:  Jamie (Wroughton Rollers) - 372 points
• Best team score:  The Boomers - Avg 227 points per player.

A large thank you goes to the team at Shaw Ridge Ten Pin for all their hard work in ensuring the event ran smoothly.

• Numbers given emergency food 100,000 higher than anticipated
• UK Foodbank charity The Trussell Trust says this must be a wake-up call to the nation

Trussell Trust foodbanks have seen the biggest rise in numbers given emergency food since the charity began in 2000. Almost 350,000 people have received at least three days emergency food from Trussell Trust foodbanks during the last 12 months, nearly 100,000 more than anticipated and close to triple the number helped in 2011-12.

Rising cost of living, static incomes, changes to benefits, underemployment and unemployment have meant increasing numbers of people in the UK have hit a crisis that forces them to go hungry. This dramatic rise in foodbank usage predates April’s welfare reforms, which could see numbers increase further in 2013-14.

346,992 people received a minimum of three days emergency food from Trussell Trust foodbanks in 2012-13, compared to128,697 in 2011-12 and up from 26,000 in 2008-09. Of those helped in 2012-13, 126,889 (36.6 percent) were children.

The Trussell Trust has seen a 76% increase in the number of foodbanks launched since April 2012 but has seen a 170% increase in numbers of people given emergency food. Well-established foodbanks that have been running for several years are showing significant rises in numbers helped during the last 12 months. Christian charity The Trussell Trust is launching three new foodbanks every week to help meet demand and has launched 345 UK foodbanks in partnership with churches and communities to date.

Trussell Trust Executive Chairman Chris Mould says:
‘The sheer volume of people who are turning to foodbanks because they can’t afford food is a wake-up call to the nation that we cannot ignore the hunger on our doorstep. Politicians across the political spectrum urgently need to recognise the real extent of UK food poverty and create fresh policies that better address its underlying causes. This is more important than ever as the impact of the biggest reforms to the welfare state since it began start to take effect. Since April 1stwe have already seen increasing numbers of people in crisis being sent to foodbanks with nowhere else to go.’

He continues:
‘Last year The Trussell Trust estimated that our foodbanks would help 250,000 people in 2012-13, we’ve helped 100,000 more than that. 2012-13 was much tougher for people than many anticipated. Incomes are being squeezed to breaking point. We’re seeing people from all kinds of backgrounds turning to foodbanks: working people coming in on their lunch-breaks, mums who are going hungry to feed their children, people whose benefits have been delayed and people who are struggling to find enough work. It’s shocking that people are going hungry in 21st century Britain.’

Only four per cent of people turned to foodbanks due to homelessness; 30% were referred due to benefit delay; 18% low income and 15% benefit changes (up from 11% in 2011-12). Other reasons included domestic violence, sickness, refused crisis loans, debt and unemployment. The majority of people turning to foodbanks were working age families.

Over 15,000 frontline care professionals such as doctors, social workers, schools liaison officers and Jobcentre Plus referred their clients to foodbanks in 2012-13. Foodbanks are community driven with an estimated 30,000 volunteers giving their time across the UK. Over 3,400 tonnes of food was donated by the public in 2012-13. Chris Mould adds:‘Whilst it’s deeply concerning that so many people are facing hunger in the UK, the evident willingness of the public to help their neighbours through foodbanks has prevented thousands of crises escalating into disaster. We regularly hear people say that ‘the foodbank saved my life’ and it’s local communities that make that possible.’

This is in addition to Hairworks , Freshbrook village centre who also receive donations.

The Swindon Duck Race has raised thousands of pounds for Swindon charities over the past 12 years - last year alone over £10,000 was raised for the chosen charities!

At the event launch at the Lalbagh Restaurant on Rodbourne Road, the Rotary Club announced they wanted to hit their 10,000 duck target this year. They are again offering a £1,000 prize for the winning duck, with an additional 6 runners up prizes of £100 each. 

Members of the Rotary Club braved freezing weather on the coldest day of the year to start selling the ducks at the Outlet Centre. Let's hope the ducks are not skating on ice on the day of the race! 

Click here for for details of the race, and where you can buy your duck from! 

In addition to online donation and standing order donation, it is now even easier to make a difference in your community by helping both Swindon Foodbank and our sister project Swindon Restore with JustTextGiving.

Simply text SCCP01 and the amount you wish to donate to 70070. For example SCCP01 £5

Or for those who would rather use the security of PayPal then just search Virgin Money Giving for Swindon Foodbank and follow the easy to use instructions.

And don’t forget that if you are a UK taxpayer your pound can go even further with gift aid.

For other ways to donate, check out our How You Can Help page

There are many people in our community who are worried what the impact will be on the ability to feed themselves. With changes such as the under occupancy payments and the reduction in Council Tax benefits some will now have to pay the shortfall directly from benefits received. 

It's not just those out of work that are feeling the pinch. It is not uncommon for us to receive calls from people in work whose wages just no longer meet the basics or are struggling on state pension, this year again we are forecasting a rise in the numbers that come through our doors for help.

More than ever the food you donate is helping those who are facing a crisis. 
Thank you for your support.

UK CEO of Man Truck & Bus, Des Evans presented Swindon Foodbank's Lee Thompson with a cheque last month; in addition to the money, staff had been shopping and were able to give sufficient food to make up 142 meals!

In the main banking court of Natwest bank on Commercial Road there is a trolley for receiving food donations during normal opening hours. 

Don't forget to check out our latest Warehouse needs, or download the Foodbank Shopping List.

This February Swindon Foodbank is launching a very exciting project with Swindon College. Working with the very generous support of GWP Packaging, Swindon College students have been tasked with a real client brief from Swindon Foodbank to design a new box which will be used to carry food from the Warehouse to our Distribution Centres.

As part of the brief the students will not only have to design the box construction and artwork, but will have to meet cost and ecological criteria. Swindon Foodbank are delighted to be involved in such a project and thank Swindon College and GWP group for thinking of us when they came up with the idea.

The students will have to pass close scrutiny as part of the competition, including a Dragon's Den style presentation where judges from GWP and Swindon Foodbank will determine the winner. Not only are there prizes on offer but also the chance for a student to undertake work experience at GWP. This is an ideal opportunity for students to gain a real insight in to the world of work, while also gaining an insight into the work which Swindon Foodbank is doing in their own community. We hope the project will help to raise awareness of Foodbanks within the younger generation. 

The Big Yellow Self Storage Company has given extra storage space to Swindon Restore.  If you would like to know more please follow this link www.bigyellow.co.uk/swindon

With many changes taking place, not only did we open a new distribution point in Penhill, we also made many new friends. Both Hairworks (Freshbrook) and Swindon Emporium (The Craft Village, Butterfly World Wroughton) became Food Drop Off points, increasing our presence in Swindon.

(Gift Pamper Bags from the stylists at Hairworks)

Volunteers were not in short supply either: Involve Swindon, the employee volunteer scheme, certainly kept us well supplied, with help coming from Nationwide, Zurich, Network Rail and the Old Town Co-op to name but a few. This was coupled with the amazing support from volunteer groups, the Guides, Scouts and all our friends from within the churches of Swindon. A special mention and thank you has to be made for all our regular volunteers who week in and week out give their time and commitment to making Swindon Foodbank work.

After what can only be described as an amazing Harvest collection we are certainly in a great position for whatever 2013 sends our way. With the current growth still showing a 30% increase in demand from last year and no sign of it slowing down in the coming months, we shall continue to seek those who need help and provide support wherever we can.

In closing, all at Swindon Foodbank and Swindon Christian Community Projects would like to thank all who have helped in 202 and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful new year.

Also if you are turning out your cupboards ready for new items at Christmas, or you are buying new furniture, we would love to receive your unwanted items for our project.

Rock and roll band "Wild" provided a wonderful musical backdrop to the 1950s themed evening, and a group of dancers from Just Jive were on hand to encourage some jive-action on the dance floor. There was a roaming caricaturist on hand to show us a different view of ourselves! And some of us were reminded what food used to be like back in the 50s! 

We were blessed with incredible generosity from companies and individuals throughout Swindon, giving us amazing raffles prizes and 11 splendid silent auction lots. Altogether the evening raised a superlative £1,000 for Swindon Foodbank, which will go towards our running costs ensuring we continue to meet the needs of Swindon people in crisis. 

Many thanks to everyone involved in the evening, from the planning, donating prizes, to those who came and danced the night away! 

In addition we received 1.248 tonnes of food at the recent supermarket collection. We'd like to thank everyone who gave their time to help on the day, including some enthusiastic scouts - your help meant a smoothly run, successful day! 

All in all this means that the Warehouse is very full at the moment, with lots of food needing to be sorted and stacked. If you are available during any day, Monday to Friday between the 12th and 30th November, and could give us an hour or two we would be very pleased to have your help.  

You would need to book in your offer of help at the Foodbank Office on 01793 978045 (between 10 & 4 Monday to Friday) or by email to office@swindonfoodbank.co.uk.

Our next supermarket collection is on 1 December at Sainsburys Bridgemead. If you can give an hour or two anytime between 9 and 5 If you can help please contact Sandra on 01793 978045 (Monday to Friday 10 – 4) or mobile 07962812442 or by email to office@swindonfoodbank.co.uk

Supermarket Collections are a great way to top up food reserves. However they can't happen without the willing help of many volunteers. Each collection lasts for 8 hours, and needs between 6 and 10 people at any time. If each volunteer gives just one hour - that's up to 80 volunteers serving those in need in Swindon! 

Could you help? 

The collections are on 20th October, 3rd November and 1st December. 

We need people to stand at the store entrances giving out shopping lists to shoppers; people to man the trolleys by the checkouts, accepting donations of food and giving out thank you cards; and a few people to pack up the food into boxes to be transported back to the Warehouse. 

Just an hour or two of your time can make all the difference to somebody this winter, when they turn to Swindon Foodbank in their emergency. 

If you can help, please get in touch today. 

Only part way through we've already received over 5 tonnes food through Harvest collections around the town. Some of the biggest collections from schools and churches have been over 200kg! 

All donations, whatever size, are welcomed. 

We are pleased to announce that tickets are now on sale for the Foodbank Hop on the 27th of October.

Every year we hold a fundraising ball and evening of entertainment to both thank you for all your support that you have given to Foodbank, but also as a way to help raise much needed funds for the coming year.

This year we are holding a 1950's style Rock'n'Roll Hop with a live jive band, a jive dance teacher to help you bust the right kind of moves, a roaming caricaturist and much more.

Click here for more information and to buy your tickets online.

Tickets are just £30 per person until the end of September, after this date they will be £35 per person. Treat yourself to a Rock'n'Roll night on the town with the Foodbank.

If you would prefer to pay for your tickets in person rather than pay online, please contact the team at Swindon Restore on 01793 978045. We will arrange for payment to be made in another way and get your tickets to you.

We'd love to see you there.

In a recent press release it was reported that the charity Kids Company has seen a 293% increase in number of children going to school hungry. Whilst we have not seen such a dramatic rise in Swindon we have seen an increase in the number of families coming through our doors. So whilst the economic climate may no longer be the headline story the issue has far from gone away. So again I thank all our friends and supporters for another month of being there for the people of Swindon.

Here are just some of the ways we were helped in the last month.

College Clean Up

New College student Mark Foster recently organised for him and a group of fellow students to run a car wash service. As well as inviting Lee to give a brief talk to his class on the work of Swindon Foodbank, he organised, with help from his tutor, all the practicalities of the day, such as water etc. Sacrificing their time, the group raised an impressive £40.00. Thanks Mark and all the team - well done! 

Mark Foster, New College car wash organiser

It all Adds Up! 

Who said accountants just sit down all day?! This month we had a team of volunteers from MorrisOwen get stuck in to categorising and storing donated food after our recent supermarket collection. Ellie Groves and the team spent a day at the Warehouse sorting cans and packets, and packing foodboxes. And, as we know that a bit of fun makes work go faster - they even had time to have a speed packing competition! 

Support from employee volunteer schemes is fantastic for Swindon Foodbank, giving us the opportunity to spread our message in a big way, as well as develop greater links with the community. If your office would like to spend an afternoon or evening helping at the Warehouse - do get in touch! 

The team from MorrisOwen compete in a speed packing competition...

Sainsburys Big Shop

Our most recent supermarket collection was at Sainsburys Bridgemead, and what a great day it was. We collected a grand total of 1.5tonnes! The generosity of the Sainsburys shoppers was such that our first van load was sent back to the Warehouse by 11.45am! 

These supermarket collections only happen through the time given to us by our volunteers, such as Rosemarie and her grandson Harry. Our Greeters on the front door did a great job letting shoppers know what we needed by handing out Swindon Foodbank shopping lists, while the Warehouse Team did a fantastic job behind the scenes processing all the food as it came in. The day is really a team effort and everyone pulled together - thank you! 

It's a family affair: Rosemarie Schofield and grandson Harry manning the doors at Sainburys

If you've taken part in our fantastic bowling events in the past you may have seen three rather dapper gentlemen playing in purple T-shirts emblazoned with the 3 Amigos. These wonderful gentlemen are a visually impaired bowling team who have supported Swindon Foodbank. The 3 Amigos are regulars at the National Championships - however this takes funding. 

And so, on Monday 9th July there is a fundraising evening to assist the 3 Amigos in their quest for national glory. The team support all their own training and equipment expenses but for one off events like these provide them a little extra help. In addition to helping the 3 Amigos, half of all proceeds from the night will go to SENSE - the leading national charity that supports and campaigns for children and adults who are deaf/blind. 

The amazing price for this event is £10.00 for unlimited bowling (£5.00 for under 16). With ALL proceeds going to the good causes, this is a winner all round. At this price it is likely to be a popular event, so to ensure your lane is reserved for you, please contact Russell Riggs 01793 874954 or 07789 250121. (If you turn up on the night without booking they cannot guarantee a game straight away.)

The 3 Amigos, fantastic supporters of Swindon Foodbank

To help develop our volunteer training work, we are looking for someone with carpentry skills to help manage our workshop as part of a team.  They will be required to have the knowledge to create, fix and restore items of furniture.  This can range from hanging a cupboard door to sanding and painting a table.  We also create many different items of outdoor furniture and garden items (such as bird boxes).  The list of items can vary greatly so an ability and imagination to make something from nothing is key to the role.  The workshop is well equipped but there will be occasions when the correct tools are not available and you will be asked to use your skills to make do with what we have.

For further information contact Alex Pollock 01793 978045 or email alex@swindonrestore.co.uk

Swindon Restore has now been open for 1 year and in that time we have seen a lot of volunteers come through our doors. So far out of 115 volunteers we have been able to help at least 8 get back into employment with new skills or a reference! It has been sad to lose them but we know they will make a difference where they are. 

In the meantime we continue to train our volunteers with the aim of providing them with skills that could help them in future employment, as well as in daily life. 

As well as our volunteer training work, we have delivered to over 370 households in Swindon and the workshop has been busy creating, repairing and restoring furniture.  There is always plenty going on, and continued need for more volunteers!

Our first golf tournament was held on June 2nd, and proved to be popular amongst all who entered despite the miserable weather. The Foodbank Cup raised over £200 to help both Swindon Foodbank and Swindon Restore.

The rain held off just long enough for the players to complete their rounds, allowing the winning team of Alex Hill, Jon Driver, Martin Bennett, Russell Driver, to go home with the championship title. Individual honours went to Alex Hill; the Longest Drive award went to Ian Abrams; and nearest the pin to Simon Dubbin.  

Our thanks go to all who entered and to Woodbridge Park Golf Club who generously let us use their facilities. Keep your eyes peeled for news of the rematch...

For more information on Woodbridge park go to www.woodbridgeparkgolfclub.co.uk

Congratulations to winning team Alex, Jon, Martin & Russell (above)

Individual honours to Alex Hill (below)

Once again the students and parents of Pinewood School (Bourton)  have pulled out all the stops to break a food collection record. 

A grand total of 1.2 tonnes was collected in just one WEEK!  Full marks go to the Pre Prep school with a collection of nearly 400kgs. All at Swindon Foodbank and our sister project Swindon Restore thank the pupils, parents and staff at Pinewood School for their continued support. The support from the Friends of Pinewood has also helped Swindon Restore with their large van (pictured).

Places are filling fast for the First Foodbank Cup. For a value for money game of golf on Saturday June 2nd please see the events section of our website.

Lee and Swindon Restore volunteer Dave Palmer brave the elements for some practice.

Community support at root level provides new collection point

The Staff at Hairworks hairdressers, Freshbrook Village Centre are giving their support to Swindon Foodbank by being a local collecting point. Open Tuesday to Saturday, late nights Thursday (8pm) it’s an ideal place for those in West Swindon to drop off food for the Foodbank Warehouse.

Perhaps it could be the drop and chop point. ( Ed: Lee stop the bad puns !!)

Opening date announced for new Distribution centre in Lambourn

Our new Distribution centre in Lambourn has opened on Monday 14th May. The Distribution centre will be open at Sacred Heart Church, Baydon Road, Lambourn, between 1.30 – 3.30pm. 

Our thoughts and prayers go to Margaret Curtis and the team who have shown what can be achieved when churches work together.

Sacred Heart Church, Baydon Road, Lambourn, our new Distribution Centre

A fantastic 1.47 tonnes of food was donated by the ever generous people of Swindon. Which goes to show despite whatever is happening in the world people still have a little space in their hearts for those in the community who need a little help. 

A particularly touching episode happened just we were packing up. A lady rushed up to the table with a carrier bag of goods and was obviously glad she caught us. She said “ Last year we used Swindon Foodbank, this year things are a little better so we can now give a something back for others. When I told the kids I was coming over here they raided their piggy banks and wanted me to buy some sweets for other children who might not have any”. Two very large bags of sweets where placed on the table; it's moments like this that make us all realise that there is hope for the future.

When you consider that when Swindon Foodbank opened several years ago it was the eighth Foodbank to open its doors, this is a fantastic milestone to have been reached. In the last year the number off Foodbanks has doubled, with 100 hundred being opened in the 2011-12 period. The opening of Foodbank 201 just shows that the need across the country is continuing to grow. The Trussell Trust has announced that their target is to reach 450 Foodbanks by 205 - and they are well on track to reaching it. 

In Swindon alone we have seen the need for our service increase year on year. In 2011 we fed some 3,700 people, and the forecast for 2012 is an increase of 40%, which means we can expect to exceed 5,000 people this year. We grateful for a full Warehouse of food at the moment, but with so many families to feed we cannot rest on our laurels to keep collecting! 

"As a lot of people are aware as a charity we like to fund-raise from time to time. In previous years Richard and a group of friends and volunteers have taken part in a coast to coast challenge, this year however we felt we would try something a little different.

Lee has come up with the idea of doing the Three Peaks Trek. Not the challenge but a joint venture involving Lee, Alex Pollock (Swindon Restore's Project Manager) and myself (Craig Evenden).

We are doing this with the aim of raising funds for Swindon Christian Community Projects who oversee Swindon Foodbank and Swindon Restore and the ongoing costs involved in running these wonderful charities.

Now, I'm no fitness guru - but I do try to get at least an hour of football in a day, albeit on the computer whilst my wife is out! So we are looking to put ourselves through the paces before we attempt to take on the 3 largest mountains in the United Kingdom - Snowdon in Wales (1,085m), Scafell Pike in England (978m) and Ben Nevis in Scotland (1,344m) in September.

You have to go back to 2008 to the last time this was done for Swindon Foodbank, a group of volunteers ventured out over that weekend and raised a magnificent sum of £2,000. We would love to raise that kind of figure again and even better it if we can, especially now as there are two charities involved."

If you would like to sponsor the three of them, please get in contact by emailing at office@swindonfoodbank.co.uk or by phoning 01793 978045.

Download the sponsorship form

A fantastic event organised for all golfers and would-be golfers to come enjoy a round of golf at Woodbridge Park Golf Club, while also raising funds for Swindon Foodbank. 

For information, and to download a poster, visit the Events page