The need for feeding the hungry continues to grow - and so does the support which Swindon Foodbank receives. And, as the advertising campaign tells us - every little bit of support does help! 

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

A massive thank you goes out to all the staff at Asda and volunteers who helped with the Supermarket collection at Asda West Swindon on Saturday 28th April and to all the warehouse teams who efficiently sorted and boxed all the donated food. The shelves are looking healthier.

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.

Swindon Foodbank had a successful collection in Asda Walmart, despite wintery weather. 

Despite the bitter cold and snowfall, over 40 volunteers braved the elements to attend throughout the day at the Asda Walmart collection on Saturday 4th February. Although the temperature plummeted the spirits were high, even for those who acted as Greeters outside.  We were blessed with a number of new volunteers, who all remarked on what a great day they had and how generous the people of Swindon were. 

A grand total of 1.7 tonnes was collected. When the last van load had left the supermarket, the Warehouse teams sprang into action, and with 27 volunteers sorting and boxing the task of storing our supermarket haul was soon completed. Thank you to the Saturday Warehouse team, the Stratton Methodist Team and volunteers from Nationwide.

Thank you for all those who gave up their time to help and a big welcome to the newbies.

If you'd like to help out at future supermarket collections sign up to our email newsletter or to our Facebook page to be kept informed of collection dates as they come up. 

New volunteer Jacqui Sheppard takes a break from the cold weather to man a trolley at the tills. 

The volunteers helping out at Swindon Foodbank's latest supermarket collection got an extra special gift - when a family who had previously received foodboxes from the charity were able to donate instead.

Swindon Foodbank volunteers were at Sainsburys Bridgemead from 9am till 5pm on Saturday 3rd December, collecting food from busy shoppers on their way out. The collection went really well with a great response from customers giving food listed on the Swindon Foodbank shopping list. The total haul for the day was a fantastic 1.514 tonnes food. But by far the best moment was when a family wheeled up a small trolley full of food. They explained that just last year they had been in a position where they had needed to receive food from the Foodbank. This year they are in a more stable position, and wanted to give food in order to say thank you for the help they had received.

"It was a very special moment," said Richard Belsham, Project Manager. "We're giving food out all the time to people facing crisis in life, and often don't know the end of the story. To see a family doing so well now to be able to give back - that's the happy ending we're always looking for."

Supermarket collections make up a large chunk of the food income which Swindon Foodbank receives; in 2010 it generated nearly 6,000kgs food for the Warehouse. The first collection of 2012 is currently booked for 4th February at Asda Wal-mart. If you would like to help make it a great foundation for the new year, join them from 9am.

Unfortunately, the Supermarket Collection we had arranged for Sainsbury Stratton next Saturday on 2nd July has been cancelled.

We will be at Sainsbury Stratton though on the 30th July though so we do have another opportunity.

Please don't turn on the 2nd, but if you can come along on the 30th, you can already send a note to: info@swindonfoodbank.co.uk

At that time, we'll be looking for people for the usual functions:

• handing out lists of the food we are looking for people to donate
• standing behind checkouts and directing customers to collection trolleys
• repacking donated food ready to be taken to the warehouse.

If you are able to help, please reply to this e-mail,  include the day and hour slots when you are available and a contact telephone number

You will be contacted with confirmation.

Swindon Foodbank has seen a dramatic increase in the number of people we're feeding in Swindon in the past few months, and as a result stock in the Warehouse was running low. On June 3rd we were able to organise a collection at ASDA Walmart. As it was on a Friday it was uncertain what sort of response the collection would get, or even if there would be enough volunteers available to help in order to put the collection on. 

We needn't have worried - around 40 people turned up to volunteer with us, helping to hand out shopping lists, collect the food, and give out 'thank you's to the kind people donating food. At the end of the day we had collected 1.319 tonnes! 

On the same day Richard and Craig went to Pinewood School in Bourton. The school had run a competition between the four sections of the school to see who could collect the most food. One young boy brought in food equivalent to his own body weight! It was a great competition, lots of fun, and was won by the Pre-prep section. Altogether the school donated 1.15 tonnes of food - a fantastic result!

We are so grateful for the support we receive which means we can go on feeding people in Swindon who are facing crisis. 

Last month we shared how we were in need of organising an extra supemarket collection as our stock is running low in the Warehouse. We are pleased to announce that we have been able to arrange a date with ASDA Walmarton Friday 3rd June. 

Now of course we need volunteers to help us on the day! Please consider if you are able to donate us an hour or two of your time. As the collection is planned for a Friday, many of our usual volunteers will be unable to make it. So we will be especially grateful to hear from anyone able to give us some time. 

Get in contact to let us know. 

The Swindon Foodbank Warehouse has seen an increasing reduction in the amount of stock its holding over the past few months. To combat this we're looking to arrange extra supermarket collections, but also increase awareness within Swindon that we need food to be donated. 

So far in 2011 Swindon Foodbank is feeding on average 16% more people than in 2010 - on average 67 people per week, compared with an average of 56 people last year. It's great that Foodbank is able to respond to this increased need - but we're aware that more feeding means a need for more stock if we don't want an empty warehouse!

There are several factors which could be responsible for the decline in stock:

* the price of lower income food has risen - for example long life fruit juice has gone up almost 100%, while tinned tomatoes have gone up 50%. These are big increases for people to respond to even within their own shopping, let alone to give away to Foodbank. 

* an increasing number of students are needing our help. Government threats of taking away the EMA grant to study has lead to a lack of enthusiasm or motivation to study among many students. New sanctions mean that the students are frequently having their financial support frozen for anywhere between 2 weeks to 3 months if they don't meet many requirements - this could be for failing to keep an appointment, not attending courses or not paying back crisis loans on time. With no benefits these students often have very little other resources to fall back on. 

* increasingly we are feeding people who are, for the most part, managing to get by on their income, whether from wages or benefits, but when something extra arises such as birthdays or unexpected bills, they don't have any margin in their finances to be able to cover them. It's so easy for these situations to snowball, and before long they have gotten themselves into debt with no idea how to get themselves back out. Food from Foodbank can help them meet the unexpected cost and avoid a financial meltdown. 

If Swindon Foodbank is to continue to meet this growing need within Swindon, then we are going to need more people to be donating food to the Warehouse. We are in the process of trying to organise extra Supermarket Collections in May or June, as our next booked collection is July. We have been trying to get a date from Asda-Walmart, but with little success so far. 

 If you are able to help out at our collections, please keep an eye on the website for dates to be updated. Alternatively, if you're able to donate some food, please take a look at our  current food needs to see the items we have most need for. 

Thank you to all who have so faithfully supported us with your donations, we hope you are encouraged to know that all the food we receive is so quickly being redistributed to those who need it. 

In 2010 Swindon Foodbank had a great time collecting in the supermarkets of Swindon. 

We would like to say thanks to The Co-op (Old Town), Sainsburys in Stratton and Bridgemead, Asda (West Swindon) and Tesco Extra for allowing us to collect in their stores. Thanks to the generosity of store managers opening their doors to us, our volunteers giving their time on busy weekends, and of course to the many shoppers who gave us food, we were able to collect nearly 6,000kgs of food! 

Our most successful day was our most recent collection in Sainsburys, Bridgemead, where, on 4th December, we collected a whopping 1,386kgs. This extra food will come in handy during the winter months, so that we can keep feeding those in need in Swindon. 

We start 2011 with a collection booked on 29th January in Asda, West Swindon. Please come support us, and if you're able to give an hour during the day to help out with collecting, get in touch via our Contact Page. 

Many wonderful people support Swindon Foodbank by donating food to us. Perhaps you are one of them. If so - thanks!

But have you ever wondered what happens to that tin of beans after you drop it into the collecting trolley at the supermarket? Well - read on...

At the supermarket...

On our supermarket collection days the generous people of Swindon donate an average of 1.5tonnes of food, all selected from the shopping lists that are handed out. These tins, boxes and packets get taken by the Swindon Foodbank van back to the Warehouse.

At the Warehouse our volunteers get to work.

Round 1 - first they sort the food into categories - Pasta, Biscuits, Cereals, Soup, etc.

Round 2 - next the food is sorted by the expiry date of each product. Any foods which are out of date are removed. About 5-10% of donated stock is unfortunately unusable due to being out of date.

Most of the items are boxed up by year. Some items, such as long life milk, are boxed up by month. Boxes of tea bags are opened up and re-bagged into amounts of 40 bags.

Labelled up boxes - such as Biscuits 2012 or Milk Mar-11 are then stacked up on the Storage racking.

Round 3 - Now the foodboxes are assembled. Each foodbox is created to contain food for 3 days either for a single person, a couple, or a family. The food is taken in date order - so that food which is earliest in expiry date is selected first , and is selected from pre-determined lists. For example, a box for a family with two children would contain:

Round 4 - the assembled foodboxes are transported to a Distribution Centre. Currently our main distribution point is The Rainbow Centre in the town centre. Here they await distribution to Clients. Our volunteers typically put together between 30 and 40 Foodboxes per week.

A box of any ‘miscellaneous extras’ is also taken to the Distribution Centre.

Round 5 - when Clients come in with a Foodbank voucher (given to them by one of our Partners) they are given the appropriate food box for their circumstances by yet more volunteers. The food is repacked in plastic shopping bags - that way the Client can leave with their bags of food like any other shopper, and not feel any stigma from receiving the food. Clients are also given a choice of one or two Miscellaneous Extras as well, whether that is cheesy biscuits or babyfood. And at Christmas we also put in some Christmas treats!

While waiting the Clients can sit and have a hot drink and a chat with volunteers ready to offer a listening ear.

Round 6 - the food is taken home and eaten!

All this is possible thanks to our fantastic volunteers, and all their work in the Warehouse and Distribution Centre. Thanks to them, and the food that many people across Swindon donate - on average 51 people are being fed each week who might otherwise be going hungry. 

The annual stock check has been completed and we have a good supply of food in the Warehouse to ensure we can continue to feed the people of Swindon who hit a crisis.

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.