Norwich foodbank: Update 219
Hello! We’ve seen all 4 seasons this week, in Earlham at least 
Downpours of rain and hail on Wednesday and Thursday, but lovely sun in between too.
Downpours of rain and hail on Wednesday and Thursday, but lovely sun in between too.Football Collection 
It was very cold at Carrow Road, at the Norwich v Shelffield Wednesday match (as you can see from the attached photo) and we are just waiting on final totals donated before sharing that here. We received 7 crates of donations which was disappointing as a response (as was the result I understand…!), but we had some great conversations and made connections with different partners present and people made donations online so we’ll share the financial gift total when we know it.
Visits to Other foodbanks
In our 15th year of operating, I have an ambition to visit 15 other foodbanks (each centre counts as one to make it more realistic!) and I’m currently on 3 so making reasonable progress…! I went to Gorleston last month and I also visited Waveney foodbank, seeing 2 distribution centres (Diss and Long Stratton) and helping at both – I couldn’t resist date checking tins in a centre cupboard 
As I said when I went to Gorleston, it is so helpful to see another set-up – whether its similar or different to us – to chat the staff and volunteer teams and those at the centres (church contacts or people coming for support) and come away with ideas or simply confirmation that what we do works 
At Diss, there were fresh items available to anyone (similar to Alive and New Hope), alongside the foodbank provision in a separate area, and then when the fresh items had all gone, the room was re-set up for a community meal which happens every Friday. We sat with people who come every week for the fresh bits and meal but had never used the foodbank and one lady who comes for the company and chat. This has come up a lot in recent meetings / conversations – how important ‘community’ is and, if it’s done well and right and is consistent, this can have a massive positive impact on those present.
As I said when I went to Gorleston, it is so helpful to see another set-up – whether its similar or different to us – to chat the staff and volunteer teams and those at the centres (church contacts or people coming for support) and come away with ideas or simply confirmation that what we do works At Diss, there were fresh items available to anyone (similar to Alive and New Hope), alongside the foodbank provision in a separate area, and then when the fresh items had all gone, the room was re-set up for a community meal which happens every Friday. We sat with people who come every week for the fresh bits and meal but had never used the foodbank and one lady who comes for the company and chat. This has come up a lot in recent meetings / conversations – how important ‘community’ is and, if it’s done well and right and is consistent, this can have a massive positive impact on those present.Schools Part 1
We were invited to lead an RE (Religious Education) session with Earlham Crossroads church, for children from West Earlham Junior school and Jon delivered the session with Tom, the Schools and Families Minister. The children were learning about ‘How do religious people contribute to society across the world?’ Jon took the children through a discussion around different Christian charities, the vision of Norwich foodbank, some statistics of foodbank usage and how they could help change poverty. The church was set up like the foodbank warehouse and the pupils sorted, picked and packed and also created ‘thought maps’ about what poverty means to them. This is something we would like to develop with other schools in the local area, especially as this pilot session was so well received!
Schools Part 2
Langley Prep School invited us back to lead an assembly, this time for years 3-8 (previously it has been a smaller group). Jon went on Monday morning and, following an invitation, we are looking forward to welcoming some of the pupils to the warehouse. Jon said ‘It is a pleasure to visit Langley and lead assemblies. Their welcome and support over the years has been fantastic and we are grateful to be a chosen charity.’ This recent assembly also generated 117.8kg of donations! Jon is happy to lead assemblies in schools to spread the word about our work and encourage more links with schools and school councils and can be contacted at [email protected] if you have connections and would like to explore this further.
Trussell Video
Emma Revie, CEO of Trussell shared a video this week (I’m hoping you can watch it here) about the reports from the UK government and their plans to make cuts to disabled people’s social security, and to ask us to help by taking urgent action today. There is a template letter to send to your MP here so grab a cuppa, watch the video and read the letter and, if you feel able to do so, send a message to your MP about it.
40Acts
I am receiving the ’40acts’ email (40acts) throughout Lent from Stewardship, who have partnered with Acts 435 for reflections and suggested activities. One of them this week was about generosity and wonder and the ‘react’ bit was as follows:‘Sometimes we need courage to be an encourager! It’s easy to stay private, but when we give of ourselves we can bless and inspire others to do the same. Don’t be timid, but “Let your light shine” (Matthew 5:16). Happy sharing!’
Tesco Collection!
We are grateful to Tesco Blue Boar. who have agreed to host us for a food drive on Thursday 10th and Friday 11th April, 10am – 4pm both days 
If you are able to help, please sign up on the link:
If you are able to help, please sign up on the link:Tesco April Food drive If you are unable to access the form, please email: [email protected]
Case Study
Following on from the above, we were witness to some wonderful partnership working recently and so I want to encourage all those involved – and there were a lot! This is just one example and I’m confident this happens regularly and so please be encouraged even if you weren’t part of this story 
A family attended one of our centres last week; the church had been contacted by the referrer (they had a relationships already) and the team kindly opened up early so they could see Luan (Shelter) without the busyness of the session. Emma (British Red Cross) had previously been in touch but the family had struggled to get in touch so seeing her face to face helped to build this relationship. Liz (Early Family Help Hub) was engaged to support too and an appointment was set up with a trusted support worker present, to help during this challenging time. At our online partners meeting on Tuesday, everyone was made aware of which advisor / agency was doing what and when, to make sure there was no duplication but also that everything is being covered by the ‘right’ person. This is EXACTLY what we wanted out of the partnerships and of the meetings we hold together, so really encouraging to see this in action. Thank you everyone!
A family attended one of our centres last week; the church had been contacted by the referrer (they had a relationships already) and the team kindly opened up early so they could see Luan (Shelter) without the busyness of the session. Emma (British Red Cross) had previously been in touch but the family had struggled to get in touch so seeing her face to face helped to build this relationship. Liz (Early Family Help Hub) was engaged to support too and an appointment was set up with a trusted support worker present, to help during this challenging time. At our online partners meeting on Tuesday, everyone was made aware of which advisor / agency was doing what and when, to make sure there was no duplication but also that everything is being covered by the ‘right’ person. This is EXACTLY what we wanted out of the partnerships and of the meetings we hold together, so really encouraging to see this in action. Thank you everyone!Happy Friday to you all and weekend when it arrives – hope you escape the wintery weather
Hannah
