It's easy to assume that those who need help from Swindon Foodbank are all from the same social situation. But the truth is a crisis can hit anyone at anytime. 

Esther came to Swindon Foodbank after being made redundant from her middle management job. In her mid 40s her relationship then broke down and she found herself unemployed and left in a house that exceeded her house benefit. She had used all her capital and therefore couldn't downsize, and so stuck in a ‘vicious circle’.

Because she was on benefits many landlords wouldn't consider taking her on. She came to Swindon Foodbank with a voucher and decided to return as a volunteer, giving her an opportunity for social interaction and some purpose in her day.

However, her circumstances haven’t improved and she is likely to have to move back to live with her parents in a couple of month’s time.

Heather received help from Foodbank a couple of years ago and as a way of saying thank you she is organising a Christmas food collection at her work place.

Tania was at Asda Wal-mart on Saturday but didn’t realise we were there until she had finished her shopping. She had been helped by Foodbank in the past and wanted to give some food when she was next shopping, so she came and asked us where she could take it.

It is so special when someone who has been helped by Foodbank in the past comes to say thank you when they are in a better position and are able to give something back. This is real Community helping Community and demonstrates what Foodbank is about.

Food can be donated at Swindon Restore St John’s Church Hall, Whitbourne Avenue, Swindon SN3 2LG Monday to Friday between 10 and 4

Small amounts of food can be left at the Rainbow Bookshop in the town centre, particularly when Foodbank is there on Monday from 4.30 to 6pm or Thursday and Friday from 2.30 to 4.30pm

If you have a quantity of food to donate and would like it collected please contact the office on 01793 978045 Monday to Friday between 10 & 4 (you can leave a message outside those hours and we can get back to you) or email office@swindonfoodbank.co.uk

One of the most important aspects of the work at distribution is the chance we get to spend time with people when they present a voucher. Recently one of our Thursday volunteers spent as long as it took to listen to a Client. The change in this person was nothing short of miraculous the following week when they came in again and the feedback they gave summed up the great work of the volunteers:

 “Thank you, you were the first person who actually listened to me in a long time “.

Enough said.

James 1:19

Know this, my beloved: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

The following comment was made by one of our clients attending the distribution centre. 

“Thank you for your help. I now feel like I only have the weight on one shoulder instead of both”  

What more can I say other than it sums up what we are able to achieve working together. It also reminds me of the following from Matthew 6:34

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today."

Lee

A couple of weeks ago a gentleman in his early 50s attended the distribution centre. He had never been in the situation before where he could not feed his family. There were a number of issues that had delayed his new benefit claim, so we sat him down and over a cup of tea he was able to vent his frustration over his situation. The packers gradually brought carrier bags over, filled with food, and his eyes grew wider and wider as he saw what was included in his food parcel; as the final bag arrived tears of gratitude were welling up.

We didn't see the man again until last week. Our hearts sank when he turned up at distribution, as we thought his benefits still hadn't been sorted out. But he hadn't come to claim a voucher but to return the unused items and a little bit more. All was now sorted with his claim.  He also handed a letter of thanks from his partner who, being housebound was unable to bring it herself. Having seen Jesus love demonstrated in action through Swindon Foodbank his partner has now expressed a wish to explore this further.  It just shows how one simple action of love to our fellow man can have an impact.

Adam is a volunteer with Swindon Restore. He's a widower of about 18 months with three young children.  He has had a hard time learning to cope since the loss of his wife; since coming to Swindon Restore he has found some purpose in his days which enables him to avoid sitting at home drinking whilst the children are at school.  

Swindon Restore has enabled Adam to train as an electrical PAT tester, and now he is helping to serve Clients who come to the Distribution Centre here at Swindon Restore on a Wednesday morning.  He is so pleased to help others because he knows what it is like to struggle with the things life throws at us and he can encourage others to push through and come out the other side.

Mary and her partner Reuben are living on low income, but were making ends meet. The Reuben's hours were cut at work, leaving him with only part time hours.  At the same time their rent went up and their housing benefit was cut. 

Mary hasn't been drawing any benefits up till now; our workers at Swindon Foodbank have advised her where to go to see if she is eligible now.  Mary was desperately upset when she came in with a food voucher, but felt a little better after being welcomed with a listening ear and receiving some bags of food.

Luke is a self-employed builder, supporting his family of four teenage children and his partner, who works part-time. Recently Luke fell off his ladder while working, and his injury has prevented him from working. As he's self-employed Luke is not entitled to any benefits - he doesn't get sick leave. His partner's wage is not enough for the six of them to live off while Luke recovers. Swindon Foodbank has been able to stand in the gap and help feed the family until Luke can return to work. 

Luke does lots of voluntary work, and it's great to be able to support someone who so generously gives of himself to others. 

Esther is a young mum of teenage children, who suffers from Aspergers. Though she receives support through term time, during the holidays she is left to fend for herself, without structure or guidance. She believes that one of her sons may also have Aspergers, but his intense shyness has so far prevented him from getting diagnosis or help. 

Esther's money had just been changed from weekly to fortnightly and she was totally unable to adapt to this on her own.  Swindon Foodbank were able to help her with food support, and we were also able to offer her some volunteer time at Swindon Restore.  

When we suggested the workshop at Restore her face lit up - she loves working with wood.  She will be able to come in on a regular basis and restore some furniture, giving her structure in her time, regular activity, connections with people to support her and food to eat.  It is a lovely picture of how the two projects are going to work hand in hand.

Ruth is a teenage mum with a one year old child.  Although she has family locally they are also on benefits and therefore feel unable to help her very much.  Ruth has a friend who needed some help and so she unwisely lent them some money which was not returned quick enough to prevent her from running out of money herself.  Her health visitor is working with her to get back on her feet but in the meantime a Swindon Foodbank voucher ensured she would have food for her and her child to eat.

A couple suffering ill health have been struggling to get income to provide for themselves and their two children. Pollyann, who has been out of work since 2010, suffers from bipolar disorder, while her partner currently has problems with his knees which is keeping him from working in his construction job. 

At the moment their benefits are being reviewed, but in the meantime they have gotten into debt and had the bailiffs round. The situation is causing much stress for Pollyann.

When Pollyann came into the Distribution Centre this week, as well as providing her with food for the family which immediately lifts some of the weight from her shoulders, we were able to spend time with her just listening to her story and ensuring she was getting the help she needed to come through this difficult time. 

Katy came into Swindon Foodbank last week. A mother of 5 children (late teens downwards), she has been searching for work for some time, but has not managed to find any yet. Her partner, a self employed tradesman in the building trade, is also out of work at present. Being self employed he is limited in what help he can get through the Job Centre; the children are all in full time education and not of an age to be able to help bring in income. So the responsibility and pressure to provide falls to Katy to claim what she can.

The family are finding it vey difficult to manage on what benefits they do receive. When she came to the Distribution Centre she was quite tearful, feeling that she just didn’t know how to manage any more, and not knowing where to turn for more help. 

We were able to feed the whole family, relieving some of the pressure which Katy has been living under for a time. 

Many people on a limited income are able to cope thanks to the benefits they receive. However, this is often a double edged sword, as benefits can be stopped by the Government or by administration for all sorts of reasons, frequently leaving recipients with a sudden drop in their income. The following two stories demonstrate how differing circumstances can have similar effects. 

Anna is a single mother, and was just about managing to provide for herself and her 5 year old son with the help of child benefit and child tax credits.  Wanting to improve her circumstances Anna began to attend college, and was able to receive the ESA (Education Support Allowance), which made life a bit easier.  Unfortunately personal circumstances prevented her from attending college for a short period, and consequently her ESA was withdrawn.  Now months later she is still trying to sort it out and has asked the CAB (Citizens Advice Bureau) to help her with this.  In the meantime she is struggling to make her money work  and Foodbank is able to stand with her to provide some food during this difficult time.

Duncan was admitted to hospital due to manic depression, but whilst in their care other issues were discovered, and he ended up staying for several weeks.  This caused his benefits to be temporarily stopped, however when he was sent home it was clear that it would take a few weeks before the benefits were reinstated and he began receiving the money again. Avon & Wiltshire Partnership were able to give him a Foodbank voucher to ensure he still had food in the period whilst waiting for this benefits, and were also able to get a crisis loan for him to help with his bills. 

Katie is a seventeen year old girl, who came into the Distribution Centre with her younger sister Ellie and a friend. Katie and Ellie live at home with their mother, who is a drug addict. Although trying to make life at home work, Katie had just found things so desperate that, just ten days short of her 18th birthday, she had decided to leave. However, she was still greatly worried about leaving her sister behind.

Katie and her sister had spent the day trying to arrange somewhere for her to stay, for money, and also for help for Ellie. However because she was still under 18 she was told there was no help available to her for accommodation or financial help; and Social Services were unable to help regarding Ellie, only able to suggest that they should inform the police about what was happening at home.

Thankfully Connexions had been able to give the girls a Foodbank voucher and send them to us. When they arrived they were naturally very distraught. While putting together their foodbox we were able to talk with the girls at length. As they were listened to and they realised that there were people who genuinely cared about what they were going through they gradually became calm. We may not have been able to solve all their problems, but while with us they regained a sense of hope that help would be available to them somewhere.

Grace is five months pregnant. Two months ago she was made redundant. She signed on a the job centre and began receiving her benefits, while she searched for a new job. Last week she was put forward for an interview, which she was eager to go for. However, it wasn't until the interview itself that we discovered it was a six month contract - which would be no good for her as she would soon be unable to work once the baby arrived. Even so they offered her the job, which she had to turn down. 

Turning down a job offer meant that her benefits were instantly frozen, leaving her with no income. Grace has no family locally, and very little support. She was able to see the Job Centre manager who could understand the situation she was in, but was powerless to effect the month freeze on her benefits. Thankfully he was able to give her a Foodbank voucher. 

Grace was understandably in distress when she came to Swindon Foodbank, but was much relieved when she was how much food she would receive. Having some practical support in this way helped her to keep on fighting - she now going to go to Wiltshire Law Centre to seek help in having her benefits freeze lifted. 

Single mum of four Simone was left in confusion about her finances over Christmas when the seasonal busy-ness meant her child tax credits and benefits were paid in at different dates to normal. By Christmas Eve she was not certain what money she had received and what was yet to be paid. 

Knowing she needed some help she tried to get advice during the week between Christmas and New Year, but everywhere was closed. She didn't even have enough money to put credit on her phone, so in desperation she sent an email to Foodbank; on January 2nd we were able to respond to her email - but in the intervening delay Simone had already borrowed money to get her through the week. This loan had to be repaid when she received her next payment - leaving her with nothing once again. 

Simone tried to get a Foodbank voucher through Sure Start, but they were closed for Christmas, as was North Swindon Family Centre. Finally she managed to call us in the evening on January 4th and we were able to provide her with food the following morning. 

Ella has been receiving disability allowance for several years due to ill health, including epilepsy, which was thought to be under control. When changes in the Benefits system were recently introduced, the Benefits Office booked a medical check on Ella to reassess her current disability. 

Meanwhile pressure at home, including her partner being out of work, lead to Ella's home life becoming stressful, eventually leading to what appears to have been a relapse in her epilepsy. On the day of the Benefits health check Ella was actually at the hospital, having what was initially thought to be a seizure, which meant she missed the appointment. 

Despite supplying proof of the circumstances the Benefits Office stopped all but the very basic benefits because of the missed appointment. Ella and her partner were left really struggling financially to provide for themselves and their three children. 

Ella received professional advice, and the case was taken to court. When the case was finally brought before a judge - after nine months - the judge was outraged that the family had been left in such circumstances when it was clear there was a genuine reason for Ella not making the medical appointment. All benefits were reinstated - but this will take a further four weeks to be put in place. 

Swindon Foodbank has  been able to provide regular foodboxes to the family throughout this time. 

Nineteen year old Jack is a bright and independent young man, working for a self-employed painter and decorator. However, no-one advised him he needed a contract of employment. When his employer lost his contract with a housing association he terminated Jack's employment immediately, with no notice and no pay - in fact, he still owed him two months salary. 

Jack tried to deal with his new situation as best he could. He went to see Swindon Borough Council about his council rent, and to the Job Centre to sign on. However, he was told it would be three weeks before he would receive any money. Suddenly Jack had no money and no way to feed himself with no prospect of that changing for weeks. 

He found his way to Swindon Foodbank, who were able to contact SBC Housing who carry our food vouchers, and get them to issue Jack with vouchers until his money comes through. Jack is now able to continue dealing with this abrupt change in his circumstances with dignity and maintaining his independence, without the stress and fear of going without food. 

Gill's life recently fell apart when her partner left her. But it wasn't just the emotional trauma. When he left he took everything with him - the cooker, fridge, their furniture and bedding - leaving her with nothing.  Gill was devastated and extremely sad.  At Swindon Foodbank we were able to help her with some food and a few hygiene products, and also put her in touch with the Gateway Furniture Project who may be able to help with basic furniture needs.

Sandy's partner Glynn also walked out on her, leaving her with their two children aged 4 and 1. On going to buy food she realised that he'd also cleared out their joint bank account, leaving her with no money with which to provide for herself and the children, or meet any of the household bills. 

Sandy went for several days without food as she used all her limited resources to feed her children. Eventually she approached the WSCC for help. But unfortunately all she met was roadblocks. The Wiltshire social services out worker was unable to offer any help. She could apply for a crisis loan, but that wouldn't be available for at least a week. The benefits system was closed to her, due to her situation needing to be investigated and reassessed following her partner's leaving. 

The WSCC staff took a collection and brought her some food basics such as bread and milk, and a £10 electricity card. But even this wouldn't last long. 

Thankfully the WSCC were also able to give Sandy a Foodbank voucher. When she came to the Distribution Centre we were able to give her food for her and her children that same day, and ensure this struggling family were able to eat every day until her benefits and crisis loan were available to her again. 

Sally came to Swindon Foodbank in need of food - but also support and a listening ear. 

Sally suffers from Asperges Syndrome. Going to college gives her a daily routine which helps her to cope with her illness. However, the summer holidays takes this routine away - suddenly daily living, paying the bills and staying on top of things becomes that much harder for her. 

This year things got worse due to the Government's tightening of Disability Allowances. Sally has been deemed 'fit to cope'; this has resulted in her losing some of her income on which she depends to provide for her and her teenage son. In order to dispute the finding Sally needs to complete forms to request a reassessment. It has all become too much for her, and the summer has been a struggle for her to cope without the usual support she depends on to work these things through. 

A Foodbank voucher has helped her obtain some food - but more valuable has been the sympathetic support, someone to listen to her story, opportunity for her to offload her stress and frustration, as well as advice on how to go forward. 

Sometimes we are given some baby food which we can distribute when the need arises.  Last Thursday we had two such occasions.

Jane's partner moved out when he found out she was pregnant, so in order to support Jane with the baby her mother moved in.  These changes caused the Benefits Office to close their case on the computer in order to reassess Jane's situation.  While she waited for her benefits to be reinstated Jane was in need of help with food to bridge the gap -and thanks to the baby food we had in our stores we were also able to provide some food for the baby.

Abi and Jake are young parents who were living in a hostel until their baby was born.  With their new arrival the council found them a flat but it was a private let and therefore the landlord required the first month's rent in advance. Their housing Benefit was still being processed, and so they were forced to borrow the money for the rent. They were left with nothing to buy their food, or their baby's,  so their Health Visitor helped them with a food voucher. We were so happy to be able to provide food not just for Abi and Jake but for their baby too. 

Esther is a single mum with two young children. One of her children has behavioural problems, which means she can't work fulltime, which in turn keeps her income low. 

Then Esther's sister died, leaving a young son without a home. Esther took her nephew in to live with them, and is now applying to foster him, a lengthy administrative process. In the meantime Esther, already struggling on a low income, has an extra mouth to feed with no extra help from benefits until the relevant paperwork has been put in place. The professionals working with Esther have been able to provide her with Foodbank vouchers to help her through this difficult time of re-adjustment. 

Paul, a young man in his 20s, has been unemployed for the past 6 months. While actively seeking for work, his benefits were delayed, leaving him without an income. When his application for a crisis loan was refused it looked like he had nowhere else to turn. But instead of facing crisis, Paul was directed to Foodbank where he twice received foodboxes, keeping him from going without. In addition, contact with Swindon Foodbank has also lead to him being in touch with another organisation who are helping to furnish his flat.

Sally and John live in Swindon and have six children. But recently the family suffered the trauma of Sally's eldest son, also called John, losing his battle with cancer. As if this difficult time wasn't enough, there followed a mix up over their benefits. Due to Sally's partner and son both having the same name, the Benefits Office incorrectly recorded the death of the wrong John. Suddenly Sally and her partner, still reeling from their son's death and concentrating on comforting their remaining five children, were faced with trying to support the family with no money coming in.

Sally and John received support from professionals in Swindon, who referred them to Swindon Foodbank. We have been privileged to be part of the team supporting this family through a distressing time, providing food for the whole family while the benefits mess is cleared up. Contact with the family has allowed us also to give emotional support It is a great example of how the network of support agencies in Swindon work together to provide help for those in crisis.

Derek was recently referred to Swindon Foodbank by Prospect Hospice. Previously living on the streets Derek, now in accommodation, was living on the edge of poverty, with no family to help. Then late last year he was diagnosed with cancer, and began undergoing treatment. Prospect Hospice are caring for him, while Foodbank is making sure he is well fed. But the greatest blessing is not so much the food, but the knowledge that he is not alone - there are people who will care for him for as long as it takes.

Susan and her partner both worked for Woolworths, bringing in £30,000 between them each month. With the store's closure in 2009 they were faced with a drastically reduced income. Despite working hard to adjust to their new income, and continually searching for new employment, by Christmas they were struggling. Their circumstances had changed meaning that their benefits were not regular, and neither had managed to find regular work. Swindon Foodbank was able to help bridge the gap till their benefits were stabilised. 

My foodbank story all started at the beginning of this year. I met Kellie in January and we soon got together in February, I was homeless whereas Kellie was in emergency accommodation. Our benefits were getting delayed and we were struggling to feed ourselves. A friend mentioned to us that there was a company called the foodbank that could help us out, at first it seemed to be too good to be true. We went to the law centre in town and received a voucher entitling us to 3-5 days worth of food that we couldn’t afford to pay for ourselves.

So off we went to the foodbank one day and were given around six bags of food and met some wonderful people in the process. Over the coming months we visited a few more times, during this time the council finally found me a flat, as I was homeless however I had no furniture and hardly any belongings to move in with. Richard and his wife Sandra pointed me to the furniture project that was run by a member of their church and within a few months I had everything in place that i needed.

However during this time I had to make regular visits to the foodbank to just be able to feed myself and Kellie. Whilst we were choosing the furniture we were so touched by the generosity of the people helping that we decided to attend their church as a mark of thanks and respect.

The Sunday morning we attended something struck deep within us, seeing all the people there so friendly and passionate in what they believed in. It left a lasting impression on us and we started attending more and more often, soon after we were invited to join a small group from the church to learn and gain a wider understanding of God.

On 22^nd November 09 Kellie and I were baptised and in a way our story all started with a visit to the foodbank to receive help that we wouldn’t have been able to get anywhere else. In the long run we both know it was God’s plan for the both of us and we're planning our wedding at the church early in 2010.

This is our story, I hope you enjoy it at much as we are!

Swindon Foodbank has many stories of being able to help people in crisis. People like Brian:  “My wife has been diagnosed with breast cancer. I’ve had to give up work in order to take care of her and our twin sons who are just 18 months old - but I won’t get benefits for 12 weeks. How on earth am I going to provide for my family and take care of them during this time?”

Foodbank was able to help Brian by giving him food to feed his family until his benefits started.

Brian’s story is just one example of the many varying situations in which we offer support.