Norwich Foodbank: Update 222, 11 April 2025

What day is it…?! Having two bank holidays make it an odd week like the bit between Christmas and New Year but hopefully this fortnightly message will tell you IT’S FRIDAY  One Easter-y line from Bowthorpe that made me smile and I’m sure we can all relate to: ‘Thank you for the Easter Eggs, a young lad in his Superman costume was very happy with this little surprise ‘

Thank you to everyone who helped at the Tesco collection last week – we raised over £300 and 434kg of food and toiletries! There were also some brilliant conversations and we were able to thank regular donors. It worked really well to have a ‘most needed’ shopping list (great idea Jon!) with a few key items highlighted at the top, then a few more items as ‘also needed’ underneath. One conversation was overheard from a family with several children – the dad gave some of the children items and told them to put them in our trolley; they asked him why and he replied ‘because sometimes other people need help, like we did once.’ What a privilege to witness this – we don’t know how long ago or what help was needed or given, but how wonderful that they are now in a position to give AND sharing this attitude with their children.

   

I visited another different foodbank earlier in the week – Ramsey – which is near March and Ely (you probably knew that, I didn’t!). It’s a one-distribution-centre setup, started by a church with the curate and a couple of others supporting and then it joined the Trussell network in 2014 and moved to a different church (where they are now), with on-site storage and more facilities. The team is entirely volunteers, and through a grant scheme, they employ a part-time British Red Cross worker (Carissa) which was the catalyst for my visit, after she came to us a couple of months ago. Along with us and Ramsey, British Red Cross have a partnership with Hunstanton too and I will be visiting them at some point as (to my shame!) I’ve never been there either… At Ramsey, their ‘warehouse’ is the downstairs of a church house, with 3 rooms filled with shelves and crates and a small office upstairs. Two of each size parcel are made up ready, with crates for picking at the distribution centre behind a wicker screen for making up once a parcel has been given out. There were a few tables with flowers on and another table behind a screen for more private conversations if needed and, as with all foodbanks I’ve visited, a lovely welcoming atmosphere. We’ve made the offer before, but if you would like to visit another area of Norwich foodbank (warehouse / office / distribution centre) please do get in touch with Jon or myself and we’ll be very happy to arrange.

Over Lent, several churches in and around Horning got together every Friday for a soup and sandwich lunch and all donations received that week went to a specific cause. Over 6 weeks, attendance ranged from low teens to low thirties and they raised over £900 in total for the various charities. We were chosen as one of these and received just under £120 and 64 Easter Eggs which was a wonderful response from the community! It was a lovely sunny day and the hall is right next to a sandwich shop so several people were looking at what we were doing. One chap asked if it was free and was told yes, but donations are welcome and he then asked what the Easter Eggs were for and was told they are for the foodbank. He said he’d have a think and maybe come back later. He came as lunch was being served and left as soon as he’d eaten, then returned a little while later with a large Easter Egg saying ‘I’ve bought this for your table’. How lovely! I sat next to a couple who’s son’s mother in law is the manager of a Trussell foodbank in Cornwall so we had a great conversation about what they do and don’t do (compared to us) and I also heard about a ‘book stall on the wall’ in Horning, set up by a few local people, which has an honesty box and has raised a staggering £11k over 4 years! What a wonderful example of ‘community’.

With special thanks to the Tuesday morning warehouse shift, we have developed a relationship with the Chinese Methodist church on Bowthorpe Road, who have held a few collections for us over the years. They have a Tuesday coffee morning and have visited us on a few occasions at this time and most recently, held a collection over a couple of months dropping their gifts off each Tuesday. This particular collection ended last week and they had a chat and excellent tour from our very own professional tour guide John (who can now sell tickets to a foodbank tour by all accounts!) and then helped weigh in their latest donations and pack a food parcel (under Malcolm and Julian’s supervision!). The minister sent this message: ‘I would like to extend my sincere thanks to your wonderful volunteers for taking the time to introduce us to the foodbank warehouse operations and for guiding us through the process of packing donated food into boxes. It was a valuable and insightful experience for everyone involved.’ We know from experience that taking the time to chat to people and showing them how we work, makes a big difference in their understanding and almost always results in further donations / support so well worth the investment of time. Thank you Tuesday team for demonstrating this so well and I know other teams – including at centres who have regular donors who come to your location – will have similar stories too 

Shelter in Norfolk are marking their 30th anniversary with an exhibition, showcasing their work over the decades and also work by local artists and testimonies from clients who have used Shelter’s services. There is a special launch event on Saturday 26th April (tomorrow) in Norwich city centre ‘Undercroft ‘(between the market and city hall). More details here about Saturday, but it will be available to visit today (Friday) 11am – 6pm, Saturday and Sunday 11am – 4pm, Monday 11am – 6pm and Tuesday 12pm – 6pm.

Also at Tesco, one of our volunteers shared this:

Another really humbling story of how the help we collectively give makes SUCH a big difference and how proud he was to share where he is now AND to be able to give something for the next person in a similar position.

As always, thank you for your role – whatever part you play – as these kinds of testimonies are only possible when we all work together.

Happy Friday.

Hannah