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The Archbishop met with Assistant Project Manager Craig Evenden, who took the Archbishop and his wife on a tour of the warehouse. Following the tour they had opportunity to question Craig about the running of Foodbank and the service it provides to Swindon. After spending two and a half hours at Swindon Foodbank The Most Rev Philip was really impressed with its set up.

“I really enjoyed meeting the Archbishop and his wife, they were really nice people, very down to earth and had caring natures,” says Craig. “When they left they said they were going to look into setting up something similar in Australia.”

Having the Archbishop visit was a real privilege and we look forward to hearing of a Melborne Foodbank in the future.

They arrived in Plymouth at 6.30pm where they dipped their front wheels in the sea to complete the task. 

The team are all in good spirits, though their bikes have taken a bashing, and despite being fairly exhausted are taking a day to relax in Plymouth, going on a cruise of the harbour and enjoying a Devon Cream Tea. 

Well done team! 

Day three (Wednesday) was beautiful weather, we hardly had any rain at all.  Although there was a lot of ups and downs on the route and everyone is very tired, they enjoyed the day and found some beautiful scenery to enjoy and photograph.  The cyclists and support team were able to meet up for lunch at a little village called Lydford, where we ate in the beer garden of a pub and enjoyed some fresh tea from their bar. 

Unfortunately Wednesday's B&B was about 2 miles off their route, so they once again had to do some extra mileage with extra climbs and descents, both to the B&B and back the next day to return to the route.  But we were very grateful to the B&B, where we were made very welcome. We were able to have our evening meal there, which was a bonus as we didn't have to walk anywhere to find a suitable venue.  This was just as well as it was a bit out in the sticks and we wouldn't have found somewhere else very easily.  Once again we marvel at God's provision and how He knows just how to provide for us in ways we wouldn't have thought of. 

Although we are starting day four in misty rain the forecast is reasonable and we hope to have a fairly dry day. The first half of the day will be very up and down again but they finish the route on a fairly level track.  We are officially up to 80 mile marker on the route, with just 22miles left to go, but obviously we have done some extra miles with detours, planned and unplanned!!

After another good meal and a good night's sleep, we start a new day with the prospects of sunshine and showers.  We've had a rain shower whilst getting the bikes ready, but now have sunshine, so we're hoping it stays sunny and dry for longer.  Everyone is in good spirits but they are tired and achy. 

Thank you for your prayers, keep up the good work, we know God is watching over us.

The first cycling day was beautiful without rain until the last half hour or so, but the cyclists faced several challenges with steep hills and a little confusion over route - leading to them inadvertently doing an extra five miles or so!  By the time they reached the first stopping point everyone was really tired and ready for a rest.  Unfortunately the B & B we had for the first night only offered one bathroom and one toilet, so refreshing after the ride was also a challenge. 

We had no idea where to eat so we set out prayerfully up the hill to the town centre and very quickly found a great mexican restaurant that did us proud with a good selection of meals and lots of choice on gluten free meals as well.  The service was brilliant and the food great so God really blessed us. 

Day Two we face our greatest mileage and the forecast is for rain all day, but we have a great God who is with us all the way. Some of the team are finding it harder than they anticipated and Richard's knees are very painful already.  So we set out trusting in God to keep us all safe and give us the ability to get to the end of the route for today.

Richard Belsham, Barbara Webb, Maurice Webb, Ben Morkot, Bob Hayward & Julie Hayward are cycling 103 miles from Ilfracombe to Plymouth over four days, leaving from the Trinity Centre, Stonehill Green, Westlea at 9am. We'd love a good crowd of people to join us at the Trinity Centre to send them on their way with style, so come join us!

There's sure to be some news and photos from the team as they go, so keep your eye out on the website for updates. 

We pray for good weather, safe travel and of course - lots of sponsorship raised! There's still time to get some more sponsorship of course - download the sponsorship form and help us reach our target of £2,000.

The next steps will include the completion of a business plan, planning application and fundraising! A project this involved is going to need a lot of community support to get off the ground. If you are interested in getting involved in this exciting new project for Swindon, please contact Tracey Kirk via Swindon Foodbank.

Not everyone can help in such a practical way. But everyone can spread the word of Coast to Coast challenge and raise sponsorship. We have sponsorship forms available to download - please help us reach our target of £2,000! 

When you're asking people for sponsorship, perhaps you could share with them Sally's story from this month's Email Update, as an example of the work Swindon Foodbank does?

However much you can do, we appreciate it. To give encouragement to our cyclists, let us know if you're supporting C2C 2010!

Download the sponsorship form

Read the Foodbank Van story

The planned itinerary is as follows:

• Sun 18th July - travel to Ilfracombe
• Mon 19th July - cycle from Ilfracombe to Bideford (26 miles)
• Tues 20th July - cycle from Bideford to Okehampton (30 miles)
• Wed 21st July - cycle from Okehampton to Tavistock (23 miles)
• Thurs 22nd July - cycle from Tavistock to Plymouth (24 miles)

That’s a total of 103 miles!

Cyclists will then return to Swindon on the Friday - unless they decide to recover with a weekend in Plymouth - and who could blame them?

Most of all - we need your help in promoting the event. Sponsorship forms are now available to download, could you help to raise sponsorship for our brave cyclists? We’re aiming to raise £2,000 this year, but we can only do that with your help. As well as raising vital funds, the more people who know about it helps to raise our profile. As Swindon Foodbank becomes better known throughout Swindon we are hoping for an increased support from the local community.

Download C2C 2010 Sponsorship Form

If you’d like to promote the challenge in your office, church or social group, contact the Swindon Foodbank office for promotional material.

Last  year's cyclists

SCCP Directors continue to be responsible for overseeing the running of Swindon Foodbank. However, now that Swindon Foodbank is established and running smoothly, the Directors have been looking at plans for a new Swindon based project, called Re-store.

Re-store is based around opening a charity shop. But, while there are plenty of charity shops in Swindon, Re-store has a far larger vision than selling donated items for profit. The shop will be a ‘new type of charity shop’, aiming to be a vehicle not only for raising money which can be used to fund other projects, but also offer meaningful work to supported volunteers, and provide a setting for sharing the abundant love of Jesus.

The shop would become an additional distribution centre for Swindon Foodbank. As part of the project, the shop would include a cafe, kept to standards of excellence, to provide a safe and uplifting environment for clients of Foodbank to be supported and nurtured. Supporters of Swindon Foodbank will also be able to donate food here.

Re-store will be set up once again with support from The Trussell Trust, the Salisbury based charity which developed the national Foodbank initiative. The Directors are currently in the planning phase, and have identified a possible premises. From here promotion of the project will begin in earnest to get support from Swindon churches. It is hoped that the project could be up an running by the end of 2010. 

Anyone wishing to be involved with the project can get in touch through the Swindon Foodbank Contact Form. 

Alternately, get in touch if you’d like to arrange a presentation on the Re-store project for your church.

Daniel Lane created a promotional film. 

Pawlan Dance provided a dance instructor. 

Martin Bennett donated a proportion of their profits from the night.  

Sponsorship packages were offered by:

Be More Effective, Big Yellow, Kendle Bell, ToInfinity, Coutts and Trak Recruitment.  

The following companies supported in other ways, many donating prizes for the Silent Auction and Prize Draw: De Vere Hotel, Hilton Hotel, The Pampered Chef, Letterfinlay, Hotel Chocolat, The Body Shop, Vine UK Ltd, Fit4Less, Homebase, Candles Naturally, Sew Craft, Fratello’s, The Lambert Arms, Swindon Onsite Massage, Atrium Gallery and Magnum Wine Shop. 

Without the support of these companies and our wonderful volunteers the Ball would not have been the success that it was. All we can say is a huge thank you!

The function room at the Hilton Hotel was a wonderful venue for the Ball, which saw 135 people dressed in their finest gathering together for a fantastic evening hosted by Howard Taylor of Heart FM. After a sumptuous four-course meal everyone was encouraged onto the dance floor for a lesson in the Cha Cha Cha from Anne of Pawlan Dance. In a few cases it may have looked a little like bumper cars, but there was certainly some emerging dance talent on show. 

Once we’d learnt our steps there was plenty of time to dance the night away to the music of Boulevard Swing, providing live music all evening. And for those wanting a special memento to remember the evening Martin Bennett Photography were on hand to capture some great photos, generously giving a commission to Swindon Foodbank from all photos sold on the night. 

The Ball received amazing support both from local companies and some further afield, many donating excellent prizes for the Silent Auction and the Prize Draw which between them, through the generosity of the Ball guests, raised nearly £1,600! We’d like to say a huge thank you to them all for helping making the Ball a real success. 

During the evening we were delighted to be able to premiere a short promotional film for Swindon Foodbank, created by Dan Lane. The film captures the heart of Foodbank’s vision and work, and was a great way to ensure that the evening was a celebration of the amazing work which Foodbank is continually doing in Swindon to help people in crisis. We’re very grateful to Dan for this film, which we can now use in speaking engagements in order to promote Swindon Foodbank. 

Such a wonderful night can only be followed up in one way - with plans for next year’s! So if you missed out this year, keep Friday 4th March 2011 clear in your calendar and join us for the Foodbank Ball 2011!

Last year Richard and Tom cycled the coast to coast challenge - through some pretty nasty weather. Their mammoth effort was rewarded when they raised £1,300 for Swindon Foodbank. 

Keen to build on their success Richard is planning to repeat the challenge in July.  This year he is hoping to be joined by a larger team - 6 adventurers have signed up to accompany Richard cycling across scenic Dartmoor, starting on July 18th. 

This new route, from Ilfracombe Harbour to Plymouth Hoe, is 102 miles long, with about 70 miles off road, and climbs to a high of 1400ft. The team hope to complete the ride over four days. 

If you’d like to support Richard and the team there are several options:

* Are you a cyclist? Then why not join up for the challenge? If you’d like to join the cycling team, please contact us by March 1st. 

* Maybe you can’t make the week’s challenge, but would like to be involved in the training? Help encourage us as we train up to the event.

* Not into cycling? Then join us a member of the support team, providing meals or driving the support van

* Raise awareness and sponsorship - we’re aiming to raise over £2,000 this year. Help us get extra sponsorship by raising awareness of the challenge to friends, colleagues and your boss. 

If you’d like any further information, or you want to get involved in anyway, please get in contact. Let’s make this a 2010 fundraising success!

The 2010 Foodbank Ball is nearly upon us, and with less than 3 weeks to go, have you made sure there’s room for you? We’re expecting this year to be our best Ball yet so I’m really hoping you don’t miss out.

You can literally shake off the winter blues by getting a group of up to 10 friends and family together for an evening of celebration and dancing fun! 

We all know that this past year has been Swindon Foodbank’s busiest yet - and we want to say a big thank you to you our loyal supporters. And the Foodbank ball is our way of doing just that. Plus, with your help we can reach our goal of 100 guests and raise desperately needed funds and awareness for the great work Swindon Foodbank does in our town. 

So please, gather together your friends, family, colleagues, neighbours and get on down to the Strictly Foodbank Ball. Tickets are just £45.00 each, and include:

 * ‘Bubbly’ reception with a choice of drinks on arrival 

 * Great food - an exquisite 4 course ‘at table’ buffet dinner. 

 * Swinging live, big band music provided by Boulevard Swing

 * Brilliant fun learning some simple, or not so simple, dance moves from Swindon’s very own expert dance instructor Anne Williams

Remember - whether you come on your own or bring 50 guests - simply order your tickets today and join us in celebrating the good work you’ve helped to achieve this past year. 

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Richard Belsham

Swindon Foodbank - Project Manager

P.S. We also need help finding some great raffle prizes or auction lots. If you have any ideas or can twist the arm of your contacts - please contact the Foodbank Ball team.

P.P.S. Tickets are just £45 each - that’s £5 less than 2009! Come along and support a great local cause. Thank you. 

www.foodbankball.org

0844 6698459

In January 2008 the loan of the van was reviewed; unfortunately the car dealership that had supplied the van had to be sold, and despite various attempts we were unable to get a meeting with the new owners of the company to discuss a new agreement.  Finally, in October 2008, we wrote a letter asking for their decision as the Tax and MOT were both due at the end of November.  This prompted a response asking the van be returned at the end of the month.  They offered to sell us the van for £5,000 but Foodbank simply didn’t have the funds.  Suddenly we were faced with the reality of losing this vital resource to our work, without any idea how we would be able to replace it.

The day after we received this news Richard was travelling up to London with staff from Carillion, who had been nominated for an award for their work in the Community. Carillion had been supporters of Foodbank since early 2008 when they had sponsored our first Ball, and since then were providing two members of staff for two hours each week to help in the Warehouse. Discussion turned to Foodbank’s current needs, and Richard explained about the situation with the van. Carillion undertook to see if they could find something for us through their contacts.  Meanwhile, the PA to one of the Senior staff talked to her husband who worked for BBC Radio Swindon; he arranged for Richard to be interviewed during the breakfast programme on Thursday 20^th November.  The Swindon Advertiser picked up on the story and ran an article the next day. 

As a result of this publicity Foodbank began to receive offers of support, beginning with a donation of £1,000 on the Friday afternoon! We had several offers of loan vehicles to bridge the gap until we could source another van and further donations of money towards the cost of replacing the van. By the time we got to Monday 24^th November we had received several donations, a small van that we could use in a part exchange deal, and even offers from two companies towards a van’s running costs.  

Initially we thought we would probably need to lease a vehicle, and one company offered a regular contribution towards this cost. However, by Monday 24^th we had received enough donations that we were able to seriously contemplate an outright purchase. We began talking to car dealers, and one van in particular, which had only come on the market that weekend, stood out as a possibility. After a little negotiation with Fish Brothers we had our new van!

Through Fish Brothers we had contact with a signwriting company who offered their services without charge, and also an insurance broker who found us a competitive quote, considerably less than we had been paying. Finally, on Friday 27^th we had another offer to buy a van for us; when we advised them that we had already secured a van they offered to make a contribution towards Richard’s salary instead!

It was an incredible week and we were extremely encouraged by the support shown from so many people and companies in the town. We are amazed at the way God brought everything together to provide for us in this way. 

Just to give you an idea of quantities and how long they are likely to last here are one or two examples on the basis of an average of 52 people each week.

Pasta: 500g per person, 926 kg                    = approx 35 weeks
Baked Beans: 2 tins per person, 3,148 tins    = approx 30 weeks
Tinned Fruit: 2 tins per person, 1220 tins       = approx 11 weeks
Tomatoes: 2 tins per person, 869 tins            = approx 8 weeks
Sugar: 500g per person, 210 kg                    = approx 8 weeks

Which means while we have 12 tonnes of food in the Warehouse, it is not in balance, with some categories needing restocking sooner than others!

However, we are not unduly worried. We estimate the next Supermarket collection will be needed in March 2010 but we have not booked a date yet. If you would like to be kept informed of the next collection date, please contact the Foodbank team by emailing us.

In order to discuss the practicalities and details of this venture we propose holding a meeting for all those interested on Sunday 31^st January 2010 at Gateway Church, West Swindon at 2pm. If you are interested in joining in the challenge, or supporting the cyclists, please come along. (bring along your lunch with)

There are several websites that feature this route, but the main ones to recommend are Sustrans and the BBC report from Liz Scott.  Just put Devon Coast to Coast into Google and you will find them.

They covered 138 miles in four days - in some pretty nasty weather!

Causeway SAAB have kindly leased a brand new van for Food Bank for 2 years.

The van is very much needed to transport food across the town. It will not only deliver food to those in crisis who are unable to visit the Distribution Centre in the Town but will also move food between the warehouse in West Mead and the distribution point in the town centre. It will also be used to transport food from the monthly Supermarket collections.

Swindon Food Bank is supporting 20 to 30 new people in crisis each week and that means moving a lot of food.

The last Supermarket collection on 5th February at Morrisons in Haydon Wick raised two thirds of a tonne.

The next supermarket shop will be at Sainsbury's, Bridgehead on Saturday 25th March 2006. Please do your weekly shopping there and help support those in crisis in your local area by donating one item from our special shopping list - download this from the homepage our website

In the meantime look out for the all new Swindon Food Bank Van!