The North Bristol Foodbank provides a crucial service to local people…but if it is to continue, it needs to find a new home for its warehouse – and quickly.
Having been asked to move from their previous premises, they’re in sudden need of warehouse space to store donated food. They need a 3,000 square foot building in Bristol, where they will store food and process it into packages to hand out at the foodbank’s distribution centres. They will also need electricity points for weighing equipment.
There’s no denying the importance of the North Bristol Foodbank to the community. In the last year, they provided 4,152 three-day emergency food supplies to local people in crisis – 1,664 of which went to children.
It’s not just about the emergency food parcels, though. North Bristol Foodbank also seeks to address some of the underlying causes of referral with additional services and support. Foodbank volunteers are trained to talk to people about why they’ve needed the foodbank’s help and signpost them to other agencies and charities that could help tackle the issue in the long-term.
Foodbank manager Matt Dobson said, “Time and time again we’re overwhelmed and humbled by the generosity of the people of North Bristol and South Gloucestershire – last year alone people donated 56 tonnes of food to help local people who are in crisis. The support is incredible. We now need somewhere secure to store these donations so we can continue to make a real difference to families in North Bristol, South Gloucestershire and beyond who might otherwise go hungry.
“We’ve been fortunate to have the warehouse cheaply in the past, as this has allowed more of the money donated to the foodbank to be spent on services for people who need our help, instead of being swallowed by renting costs. We urgently need help to find a space for our warehouse as quickly as possible – we’d be very grateful for the support any local people can give.”
Anyone who is able to help is asked to contact the foodbank on 0117 979 1399 or email: info@northbristol.foodbank.