Norwich foodbank: Update 224
Well the bar was set quite high in the last update with all the out and abouts we had, and it’s not as exciting this time I’m afraid…! That being said… we did go back (in a voluntary capacity!) to the Yarmouth ship to take some of their frozen meat – we barely made a dent, despite local Yarmouth community providers going too! – we took their huge catering size tins and packets too, for community meals we had made connections with, having seen the items available. Big thanks to Chris for driving
Trussell Conference
I attended the Trussell conference in London yesterday and the new 5 year strategy was shared, updating and building on the ‘Together for Change’ strategy from 2020. There was a lot of input from the learnings of the 55 Pathfinder foodbanks – of which we are 1! – if you don’t know what ‘Pathfinder’ is, read on for more on that… It was encouraging to chat to other foodbanks who are doing or exploring similar projects to us and understanding the new Trussell strategy (which has consulted foodbanks in Trussell AND independent ones and partners like advice agencies etc). This refreshed strategy has a new tagline which is ‘ending hunger today, ending hunger together, ending hunger forever’, which is absolutely the track we are on: emergency food today, support and advice together in partnerships and campaigning for long term changes so foodbank need can end in the long term. The term ‘stubborn hope’ came up a few times – we need to hope and work for change, in the face of challenges
Your Own Place Testimonies
We get reports from our on-site partners each quarter and they give us stats on numbers of people seen and / or supported (which is different), income generated (perhaps a new benefit claim or support with new employment), expenses reduced, debts ‘managed’ (i.e. payment plans arranged etc) or written off and ‘other’ feedback that helps us demonstrate the power of working together as multi-agencies for the benefit of the person or household. Our latest Your Own Place report had a couple of great case studies (both on the links below) which show the amount of work we (collectively) do, the length of time some people need in order to best engage with us, the back and forth nature it can take, but the absolutely life-changing work that is done. Happy reading
Chantry
I heard this week about a report on the importance of reading to children and for children to enjoy reading and there is a free event as part of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival tomorrow, encouraging people to bring their book and read in the peace, quiet and beauty of St Peter Hungate (Page Against The Machine) We have BookBank present at Bowthorpe and separately, Rachel at Chantry has created a book stall at that centre  Rachel shared this feedback recently: ‘A little girl looked over the moon to take a Peppa Pig book, and a couple who had very little English took a novel – a good way to improve their language skills!’
Wellbeing Champion Training
I have shared previously MIND training dates with you (available for free) and there is a new June date for Wellbeing Champion training, if any of you are interested:Â new date
Parent Champion Training
Children’s Services have some upcoming Parent Champion training and have asked if we can share it, so here goes! ‘The role of a Parent Champion is to learn more about our local services available for families to help make informed choices about the support available to them by sharing this information with their local communities.’ A poster with details is attached here.
Pathfinder Film
Some of you may remember (or indeed were involved!) a film Trussell made where we were visited by Kathryn from Farnworth and Kearsley foodbank and I went to visit them, as part of our Pathfinder-foodbank ‘journey’. Pathfinder was a 5-year programme within Trussell that we joined in 2020, to actively seek ways to end the need for foodbanks and to then share what we did and learned with the rest of the foodbank network. This film is one of 4 that were produced to showcase different aspects of Pathfinder learning. Our film includes Bowthorpe, our Shelter worker Luan and Michael who we met when he needed to use the foodbank. The film was shared at the conference yesterday and this morning with the team at Bowthorpe (hence this email coming out a bit later than usual!)  You can watch it here Pathfinder Film but please don’t forward it on / share it wider as we only have ‘internal foodbank’ consent at this time. In due course, we hope to share it wider.
Yoga Fest
We have been invited to have a donation and information stand at ‘Yoga Fest’ in Whitlingham in August (a form will follow in due course asking for support, of course!) and as part of being involved, we have been offered a 20% discount code if you would like to go as an attendee, buying a ticket for the day (if you help us on the day, you won’t need to pay, but I don’t think you’ll able to participate in any of the activities). Share code: NYF25ROCKS Book here
GOOD NEWS
From Rachel, showing the power of a phone call: ‘Yesterday I got a phone call. The lady was a bit emotional and nervous and told me about how she’d been moved with her two children from Surrey to Norwich. She contacted her family support worker with her new address and was told she was no longer supported by them and her information will be passed over to Norwich; however she hasn’t heard from anyone and has been left to her own devices. Since being moved she has managed to secure a part time job and is trying to get support for her children as one also has learning difficulties. She has not yet had her first wages and her Universal Credit has been spent on getting essentials for moving and other costs. I calmed her down and, looking up her postcode, I could see if she hurried she could get to our centre where Emma from British Red Cross would be. She phoned back a little while later as she was struggling to find the entrance to the church and as I guided her in over the phone, I heard her get greeted by one of our volunteers. She asked to speak to Emma which the volunteer said they could help her with. The lady was extremely grateful for our help and the extra support we could offer her.’
Happy Friday all and enjoy the bank holiday weekend (yep, it’s another one!) and half term if you are affected  As its a bank holiday Monday, the warehouse, office and Witard Road distribution centre will be closed on Monday.
Hannah