Norwich Foodbank Update: 234, 10 October 2025

Last week I shared a bit from Trussell about unity and hope and connection and there’s a bit of a theme on that this week too  At a recent visit to a distribution centre, Jon shared ‘clients told me how they were grateful for just having people to listen to them and how they value the space to have a drink. They also said that they are often told their poor mental health ‘will go soon’ and finally that there are not enough listeners.’

When I explain in a talk to a group how our centres work, I often give the example of a GP surgery with 10 minutes appointments for one issue and that our centres are almost the opposite – spend as long as you need here (within the opening times of course) and say as much or as little as you want. The fact that at nearly all centres, there are now ‘regulars’ from the local community who pop back for a cuppa and a chat speaks to this missing listening element and how comfortable people are made to feel so again, thank you. And to bolster that, I had a message from the office at Chantry, saying ‘Your volunteers at Chantry Hall are all so fab, it’s great having them here’.

Strumpshaw Coffee Morning

Following on from the above, I wanted to share about a coffee morning I attended this week. We have had financial and food donation support from Strumpshaw, Lingwood and Brundall (sometimes individual groups, sometimes combined) for some time, including from the Strumpshaw Coffee morning, where I was invited to speak in June 2024 and then to give an update this week. It was so encouraging to hear that this coffee morning – now in a pub marquee (see attached), fully supported by the pub who provide the tea, coffee and facilities – was started in a lady’s kitchen as a way to meet new people in 2015 and, over the years, it has grown and developed into this weekly time together; sometimes just chat and other times speakers / events. I also heard that a judge from the Broadland and South Norfolk Council awards was on their way to visit because the pub is up for ‘business in the community award’ because of all the activities they encourage and support. We wish them good luck in the decision!

BookBank

I have shared before about some news from BookBank which operates out of Bowthorpe and they have compiled a bit more of a report which I have attached for you to read.

Sainsburys Longwater

We had a good day yesterday with lots donated and some good conversations with customers, including new offers of volunteering and having new volunteers taking on shifts over this collection which is lovely, thank you. We’re there again today and tomorrow and again, thank you to all involved!

Sign up for Tesco

We have had dates confirmed for in-person collections in Tesco Sprowston (aka Tesco Blue Boar) at the end of November. If you are able to help out on Thursday 27th, Friday 28th, Saturday 29th November please do sign up here and thank you to those who have done so already!

Teacher Tommy T & Foodbank Fortnight

I said last week that more info would follow on the Bank The Food campaign, as we were involved in a big press event with ‘social media sensation’ Teacher Tommy T (some younger folks i.e. circa 11 years old I understand, may have come across him!) A big thank you to Bryonie and Katherine for supporting our press extravaganza and we are pleased to report that there has been more engagement for us with new downloads of the app, more likes and engagement on social media and more interactions for Bank The Food too following these articles which is great.

NCAN Conference 

Some of you may know about NCAN – Norfolk Community Advice Network – which is a great tool to refer people into many different organisations for extra support and help and the onus is on the agency to get in touch with the person in need (as opposed to the person needing to make another phone call or visit a different venue). They are also leading on the ‘Norfolk Anti-Poverty Alliance’ which we (Norwich Foodbank) are actively involved with. NCAN host meetings online to catch up on news and events across the county, but had its first in-person conference last week with various presentations and updates. We were named twice in the afternoon, once by Shelter and sharing about how well we work in partnership to provide support and advice on-site and once with reference to the Anti-Poverty Alliance. With so many challenges that people are facing individually and that charities are facing, it’s great to know we continue to have a voice in the wider arena of ‘support’ and that both internally and externally our partnerships in centres are seen as incredibly valuable to those we serve and work with.

One Show Comment…

…thanks to Chris who told me Trussell were featured on the One Show on Monday – you may have seen it yourselves, with a visit to Salisbury and Swindon foodbanks and praising the ‘new addition of a Citizens Advice worker’. This reminded us that we first partnered with Shelter in 2019 and added in Citizens Advice in 2020

Trussell Regional Conference

Jon, Keir and I had the opportunity to attend a Trussell conference in Cambridge, for foodbanks from Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire (I may have missed one…!) to come together to learn and share. We had been asked to be on a panel with regards to our distribution centres, how we ensure people are welcomed and what plans we have to continue to make the experience of attending a foodbank as straightforward as possible. It was a privilege to publicly praise YOU, our new Lived Experience work and the reports following work done by Your Own Place who shared direct feedback from clients, some of which we have already been able to implement, including adding notes into the data system (where a voucher is issued) with regards to the size of the centre, parking and access information.

Home School Group Update:

In a previous update, we mentioned that an enthusiastic group of homeschoolers came to our warehouse to work with Jon and learn about  the foodbank. These wonderful youngsters designed posters and activities for an amazing fun day, fundraising for us in September. Some of the activities included tie dyed t-shirts, fruit smoothies, face painting, games and a tombola. We are so grateful for these young campaigners for not only spreading the news about what we do and how we work but this fun day raised an incredible £1,200 for us!  They surpassed last year’s total and were really pleased to know we will use this towards our most needed food items as a tangible ‘thing’ their funds are going on.

No Red Tape Here…

We received an email with regards to warehouse packing tape and I wasn’t sure if the headings were good marketing (how many different tapes does one need?!) or dad joke material (I do love a bit of wordplay though) so I’ll leave it up to you to judge…

A Tape for Every Task

Expertise That Sticks With You

Whether your Friday involves red, sticky, measuring or a mix tape, I hope you have a good day and lovely weekend when it arrives.

Hannah