CLAPHAM PARK FOODBANK 2020 REVIEW April 2020 - April 2021
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S CORE FINDINGS FOR 2020-21
In our local area (Thornton, Balham and Clapham Wards) - we fed THE LOCAL CONTEXT - 2 2,103 people. This is more than double the persons fed by Clapham Park Foodbank in the previous period. The increase in demand was particularly acute in the first three months of the pandemic (April - June). In the same wards in this OUR WORK IN THE period, we fed 539 people in total, compared to just 197 people fed PANDEMIC - 3 in the same three months in 2019. The data from the early months of the pandemic and the whole year make it clear that children have been particularly negatively HOW YOU CAN HELP - 6 affected by food poverty. Across Lambeth 40% of the people that we fed were under the age of 16. Across Lambeth - 52% of people said that they needed to use our service due to Low Income failing to cover essential living costs.
cpfoodbank claphamparkfoodbank claphampark.foodbank.org.uk Whilst some peaks and troughs in usage are seasonal - we always see more clients in winter than summer - it is reasonable to say that this increase is due to worsening food poverty in our area.
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Before August 2020 Clapham Park Foodbank was 0 situated at All Nations Church on Poynders 5 6 7 8 9 0 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 2 6 7 - 14 15 1 1 18 19 Road, on the edge of Thorton ward in Lambeth. 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 2
Like other Trussell Trust Foodbanks, referral Persons fed by Clapham Park Foodbank (by Financial Year 2014 - 2020) agencies identify people who need our help. Largely due to where these referral agencies are In the financial year April 2019 to April 2020 we situated and the accessibility of the Foodbank, we fed 2,397 people - a 26% increase on the tend to support people who live within a few miles previous financial year. Over the same period of our Foodbank. However we sometimes support 42% of referrals were made due to low income people from other parts of Lambeth and and 33% of referrals were due to benefit changes Wandsworth too. or delays.
Since we opened our Foodbank in 2014, we have seen a steady increase in demand on our services. This growth has sped up since the second half of 2017.
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T H E J O U R N A L P A G E 2 Our response to the whilst maintaining social distancing. pandemic We moved our base of operations too. After six We recognised that the Coronavirus pandemic years in the same place, we temporarily switched and the national lockdown would fundamentally our service to the South London Foodbank change the needs of our community. Warehouse in Streatham, whilst important redevelopment of the church takes place. We In the main, our Foodbank supports individuals continue to use and share the South London in short-term crises, often caused by temporary Foodbank Warehouse with the other Trussell problems with income. The pandemic pushed Trust Foodbanks in Lambeth. This means that we many more people into precarious situations, can pool resources and increase efficiency in even with the speedy and wide-ranging support triaging referrals and delivering our parcels. given by Government, businesses, community groups and charities. To make this cross-Lambeth service as efficient as possible, Clapham Park Foodbank volunteers Irrespective of the needs of our community, we are responsible for delivering to those in need in also had to consider how people could access our SW4 and SW12. This captures the core wards Foodbank safely. After testing a few approaches, close to our normal home: Thornton, Clapham we decided that a home delivery model would Common, Clapham Town and Balham. It also work best for the individuals and families who means that our volunteers pack parcels for and needed our help. deliver to some individuals in Ferndale and Larkhall, close to Clapham North Underground. This meant that we could reach people who were shielding and keep our service running
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T H E J O U R N A L P A G E 2 Our work in the pandemic Our service delivery model has had to transform due to the pandemic. Sadly, the need for our service in our area has changed substantially too.
An analysis of our annual data strongly suggests that need in our community has increased significantly, almost doubling in some areas. This matches what our volunteers are experiencing at the Foodbank. It feels busier than ever.
To give you a snapshot of need in Clapham, we have compared our work in four wards in 2020 and 2021. We have also drawn on the data held jointly between the Trussell Trust Foodbanks in Lambeth, to give you an indication of who is using our services and why they need help.
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0 l t r r r r i y e ly s e e e e ry ry h r a n u u b b b b a a rc p M Ju J g o u u a A u em ct em em n r A t O v c a eb M ep o e J F S N D Cumulative persons fed in Clapham Town, Clapham Common, Balham and Thornton Wards in 2020- 21 (Green)
deliver food across the borough, rather than just in A note on our data our usual area. This means that we began pooling When comparing data between years, we should note data from August 2020. Whilst we have no cause to three important points: suspect that the characteristics of people we have We now run a home delivery service that operates helped previously in Clapham are different to the every working day each week. This means that we people that other Trussell Trust Foodbanks in are more accessible, which may in turn increase the Lambeth help, we should be aware that sets are not number of people who can access our service. strictly the same. We are working with other Lambeth Foodbanks to In the same way, we are now responsible for
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T H E J O U R N A L P A G E 2 In our area In Thornton, Clapham Common, Clapham 250 Town and Balham, we fed 2,103 people 200 between April 2020 and April 2021 - 124% more than the previous period (938). 150 Demand was high in the early stages of the outbreak. In the first three months of the 100 pandemic (April - June 2020), we fed 539 50 people in Balham, Clapham Common, Clapham Town and Thornton, more than 0 l e double the previous quarter (244), and the ry ry h ri y a a rc p a n u u a M Ju n r A same three months in 2019 (197). a eb M J F In the first three months of the pandemic, the increase in children needing support was Persons Fed (Green) by Clapham Park Foodbank in particularly pronounced. In the four wards Balham, Clapham Wards and Thornton in the first six months of 2021 versus the previous period in 2020 mentioned above - we fed 173 children in (blue) April - June 2020, compared to just 44 in the three months previous.
Across Lambeth We were most commonly visited by Single Individuals (42%). 39% of the households we 52% supported were families with children. Over half (52%) of those who needed help said that they had to come to our Foodbank due to low income. Understandably, more people than previous years cited illness as a reason to attend. 52% of referrals across Lambeth were due to low income failing to cover the costs of living
meeting all referrals to Trussell Trust Lambeth we had been operating on our own. Foodbanks in our local area (we cover the SW4 and In sum, we do not believe that any combination of SW12 postcodes). This means we might receive clients the above reasons explains the astonishing rise in who would have, in other years, been referred to demand during the pandemic. However, we would be Foodbanks further afield (for example if they attended grateful if you could keep them in mind when using or Brixton Job Centre). We have no reason to believe that discussing our data. this cohort is the main reason for the 128% increase in persons fed against the previous year. It is likely that we would have seen a similarly significant increase if
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T H E J O U R N A L P A G E 2 How you can help We have had an unprecedented year, and we wouldn't have been able to meet the need in our community without the incredible support of people like you. We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of businesses, community groups and individuals in our area. Thank you for your help during this time.
Sadly, it is likely that many people will continue to need our help in the coming months. We would be incredibly grateful for any support that you can give.
If you want to help us, you could consider the following:
Donate Money Donating money allows us to fund our operation. This might include: fuelling our vans, buying items that we are running urgently low on and paying essential admin costs. You can donate by visiting the Clapham Park Foodbank Virgin Giving Page.
Donate Food You can donate food at one of our collection points in and around Clapham. These currently include: Tesco Clapham South Side, Waitrose Balham and Co-op Abbeville Road.
We welcome any type of donation, but we often run short of certain items. Visit our website to see our shopping list, or check out our social media accounts for regular updates.
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T H E J O U R N A L P A G E 2