Norwich Foodbank: Update 216, 31 January 2025
Good morning everyone!
A slightly calmer week or two with a few meetings and busyness but also time to catch up, which included some visits to centres (and the warehouse, albeit this site is literally on the doorstep!) which was lovely.
Samaritans Training
A big thank you to foodbank volunteer Richard, who is also a trained and active Samaritans volunteer, who delivered some excellent training to our Centre Leaders last week. 20 of you attended across the two sessions and we discussed the importance of looking after OUR mental and emotional wellbeing, as well as unconscious bias and judgemental attitudes, active listening and signposting. Thank you for the feedback, which included how helpful it is to meet together with members of other teams and discuss different scenarios and set-ups. Jon and I have already got plans / thoughts for further training and sessions that have been asked for on various topics 
Please do get in touch with Jon or myself if there is support or training you would specifically like for you or the team you work with and we will do our best to support!
Please do get in touch with Jon or myself if there is support or training you would specifically like for you or the team you work with and we will do our best to support!Detective Work 
I had a call from one of our Partners asking ‘do you remember a presentation we had from a service that helps families who have come from abroad…’. And I did! We had this speaker at one of our multi-agency meetings so found the details and passed them over; the referral was made and the family have been picked up by the correct agency for additional support. Team work! We had our monthly multi-agency meeting online this week and within 20 minutes, had discussed 3 particular clients that Age UK Norwich, Your Own Place and British Red Cross had all worked with at various times and who needed additional support or an update between the workers. It is so great to demonstrate the power of good and timely communication AND working together so I do the bit I can do, then you do the bit you can do but both of us work together for a positive outcome for the person in need. I have heard several times from other agencies that this kind of working is not ‘usual’, although it is desired so it’s great to know we’re doing well in this regard.
Lived Experience Group
On Friday Jon hosted our first lived experience group It was a productive afternoon of sharing stories, barriers to help and messages of hope. We talked about what has led to people using the foodbank within Norwich, what policy changes or agency support could have prevented this usage and what we could campaign on in the future to try and reduce the need for foodbanks. The session was also a great chance to collaborate with NCAN (Norfolk Community Advice Network) who’s Campaigns Officer joined us. If you have a passion for campaigning or what to learn more, please sign up to attend the Anti-Poverty Alliance meeting in Norwich at the end of February: Anti Poverty Alliance sign up (more info was included in Update 215).
It was a productive afternoon of sharing stories, barriers to help and messages of hope. We talked about what has led to people using the foodbank within Norwich, what policy changes or agency support could have prevented this usage and what we could campaign on in the future to try and reduce the need for foodbanks. The session was also a great chance to collaborate with NCAN (Norfolk Community Advice Network) who’s Campaigns Officer joined us. If you have a passion for campaigning or what to learn more, please sign up to attend the Anti-Poverty Alliance meeting in Norwich at the end of February: Anti Poverty Alliance sign up (more info was included in Update 215).Volunteering is Good for You
It’s official, according to this Guardian Article 
Social Supermarkets
I have had a good meeting with folk from the Nourishing Norfolk network of social supermarkets, pantries, larders etc (part of Norfolk Community Foundation) about how we can generally work ‘better’ together with the hubs in Norwich. This could include cross referring (people who use us regularly being referred on and people who are members of a shop but are in crisis being referred to us), a named contact for our ‘local’ (to each centre) shop and their processes and criteria and, more generally, understanding what support is available at each hub. Small steps but definitely in the right direction which is positive.
GOOD NEWS
We have had some wonderful responses through Acts 435 in recent months for various items including a new bed for a mum and child who had been sleeping on the floor; plates, mugs and cutlery following a family breakdown and move; a new washing machine for a family. All were fully funded through donations via Acts 435 within a couple of weeks at most – one within a couple of days! – and those in receipt of the items were VERY grateful. The message of thanks we received for the bed was as follows: “Thank you so much for your generous donations towards providing me with a new bed and mattress which [we] desperately needed. [My daughter] is absolutely over the moon with it, and she’s even more happy that her teddy has a comfy place to sleep now too. We are so grateful for the generosity we have received and are so, so thankful! Thank you so much! Helping us obtain these items has taken so much pressure off. Thank you.”
And following receipt of new crockery and bedding after a family breakup: ‘Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness and generosity. Your help has made a huge impact on my family helping us with much needed items. This has made our lives so much less stressful at a difficult time of year. We don’t know what we would have done without it. Words cannot express how much this means to us and we will forever be beyond grateful.’
Hope this last piece especially has brightened your day as it did mine when it came in. Have a lovely day and weekend when it arrives.
Hannah