A Very Busy Year for the Food Hub by Ivanka Lennon, Chair of Trustees
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ANNUAL REPORT 2017/2018 RE: EW OF THE YEAR N WORDS, P CTURES AND NU2BERS September 2018 A very busy year for the Food Hub by Ivanka Lennon, Chair of Trustees WHAT a busy year for all of our volunteers! This year saw 3,483 people come to us for food - 41% more than last year. This meant all our volunteers had to work much harder, whether they were packing, calling, refreshing, welcoming, Ivanka: Steep rise of data inpu%ng, co-ordina&ng, 'lling shelves or sor&ng food. clients in the winter The numbers we fed rose most steeply over the winter months. I think God had ‘filled our barns’ in preparaon as we had a most bounful supply of harvest donaons from many schools and churches. We also received cash donaons of varyin amounts, each one wonderfully important. Two were lar e donaons that came out of the blue, one from a local charity and another from two house buildin companies. God was ensurin we could connue to look a"er our community. Over the years volunteers have wondered how the Food Hub can improve the si nposn we ive to clients: informaon and contact details for other or anisaons which may be able to ive help and specialist advice. A roup of welcomers is workin on supplyin each welcomer with a binder full of useful informaon desi ned to help our clients. A memorable e(ample of signpos&ng was a young man who talked passionately about needing work and rebuilding his life. We gave him the Crisis Croydon lea*et showing all the courses they run and he was so e(cited: ,This is -ust want . want!/ I find it’s easy to for et that dedicated bands of volunteers all over the country are workin in their towns doin similar work to the Food Hub. When I went to an All-Party Parliamentary Group meen on food poverty I was shocked by what I heard about in some communies. Yet, more importantly, it was inspirin to learn of the determinaon of people to feed the hun ry in their local area. Feedback led me to End Child Poverty whose research data shows that 20.6% of children in Croydon South live in poverty, 33.5% in Croydon Central and 36.5% in Croydon North. Many of our clients seem s3ll to be 4migra3ng6 to Universal Credit from previous 4legacy6 bene7ts or are 4new6 to the system and go straight on to UC: either way, they o8en e9perience long delays in payment. Realiscally, we are always oin to be catchin people who fall throu h the ever widenin aps in the social security net. We want to reach out to them and ive food, a listenin ear and si nposn to help those who are in a very di,cult place. Our faith in a God who loves each and every person in Croydon empowers and commands us to share that love...and that includes sharin our food. 1 OUR WHY, WHEN AND HOW ANNUAL GENERAL 2EET NG 4Great customer Everyone is invited service...and he Food Hub6s Annual General 2ee3ng will be held T on Tuesday evening 1.th October at Purley United Fuality foodG6 Reformed Church. The mee3ng starts at 7.00pm, with refreshments available from 7.00. urley Food Hub was set up in P 2012 by the churches of Purley All volunteers, friends and supporters are warmly invited and Henley in obedience to Desus6 to come and hear of the Food Hub6s achievements in commands to care for the poor, love our neighbour as ourselves and 2017/2018 and the plans for 2018/2019. speci7cally, in 2aAhew 21:01, to feed the hungry. CL ENT SUPPORT 2ince the doors opened in 7anuary 2013, we have provided food to almost 13,900 people in crisis from Helping clients to deal our distribuon centre in Purley 4nited Reformed Church - that’s over 125,000 meals so far. with their problems Clients are referred to us by cket by Dave Sco was appointed our Client Support :olunteer in over 90 a encies across Croydon, and it is clear from the clients that hard 2arch 2018. He e9plains his role: mes can happen to anyone at any The Food Hub has been me throu h no fault of theirs. an inspiraon to me and 2uring the brief &me they are with us we seek to show them 3esus/ love a rewardin place to through our words and ac&ons, as volunteer. I started with well as providing food and toilet- sorn food donaons ries, welfare rights advice and e(tra on Mondays, then I ot support and poin&ng them to or- ganisa&ons such as 4rowbaby and to thinkin about why Chris&ans Against 5overty. we ive food out. Yes, One rateful client summed up what people need food but Dave (centreC with two of our the Food Hub means to him: there must be under- welcomers, Dim and 2arEorie • Great customer service lyin reasons and maybe I could o0er e1tra support... • ncredibly friendly team 2o, as Client 2upport 3olunteer, I en a e with clients when they • Caters to individual circumstances come in for food and see if I can help, maybe oin throu h • Goes the further mile to help • Consistent and eIcient forms with them or tryin to unravel 4niversal Credit issues. • And Fuality foodG 0ne of the 'rst people . saw was a mum with two children N OUR OWN WORDS who was seriously in debt and faced with evic&on. 1he was While clients wait for their bags of scared. sat down with her and she said she had debts and food, they oen talk to us about their arrears on her Council ta(, rent, etc. told her we needed to go problems and we can point them to through each one and priori&se. other sources of help, such as sorng out their benefits or geng free baby We met with Adrian Robbins from Croydon’s Welfare Ri hts stuff. I remember a man who had Team and subse5uently with other Council collea ues - and they suffered breakdown of his marriage have helped with her debts and ot her rent and other bills on followed by depression, unemployment, track and mana eable, and the threat of evicon has now one. homelessness. e told me the school in Croydon he had a"ended years ago and Other clients have had issues with 4niversal Credit, not under- it was the same one my husband Nick standin the process or stru lin to use the DWP’s computer and I had taught at$ e remembered systems. Whilst I am not an e1pert, I see my role as very much Nick and we helped him get some 2 household items for his %at. LESLEY complemenn the help that the Food Hub already provides. 3 :OLUNTEERS TRUSTEES Complaints, HJS, 4How a large number of people, well data protec3on organised, make a real diLerence...6 t the Food Hub we are blessed with an amaMing team he Food Hub was incorporated A of volunteersN many carry out two or even three roles. as a charity in 7une 2013, T • Around 60 volunteers work at the food distribuon centre at overned by Arcles of Associaon, Purley 4nited Reformed Church on Wednesdays and and is re istered with the Charity 2aturdays, welcomin clients, packin food parcels, servin Commission (charity no: 1152807A. refreshments The Trustees have le al and inpuIn responsibility for the charity’s to our mana ement and administraon computer and are appointed by the member database. churches for up to 9 years. The • Another 30 ma1imum number of Trustees is 9 sort and date- and one third rere at each AGM. label food Currently we have 8 Trustees: donaons on vanka Lennon (ChairC, Dim Beacom Monday (co-optedC, Derek Harris (TreasurerC, mornin s and replenish our shelves on Tuesday evenin s. Helen Harris, Gillian Harrison, Dudith Dohnson, Doreen 2cCollin and Dohn • And 30 collect donaons at local supermarkets. Stradling. Other volunteers work behind the scenes on IT, administraon, In 2017/2018 the Trustees a reed social media and the Food Hub website. an improved Complaints and At present we need more volunteers to help for an hour on Discipline Policy C Procedure D many occasional 2aturdays with our supermarket collecons and to thanks to Gillian for her input. The or anise food collecons amon work collea ues, friends or updated Health C 2afety Policy was nei hbours. also a reed, and the 2afe uardin Policy was updated. N OUR OWN WORDS I heard about the Food ub through Christ Church and was 7udith spent me with Erian Gibbs impressed by the way a large number of volunteers, with good and 7ean Ludlow on the General organisaon, can make a real difference. I do an hour(s Data Protecon Re ulaon, and an supermarket collecng on a Saturday and am always warmed updated policy was produced. 7ean by many people(s generosity. There are those few who want to became our Data Administrator know more and are then keen to help. There(s also the with Doreen takin on the role of occasional person who is keen to tell us why the Food ub should not be necessary$ Besides being given an ice lolly on a Data Protecon O,cer, alon with scorching hot day, my best memory is of a chap whose car becomin the Trustee with overview broke down nearby and I went over to see if I could help. I could of safe uardin issues.