Foodbanks. Their Role in Your Local Community

To understand the role of a foodbank within the local community.
To consider the factors contributing to the need for foodbanks.
To evaluate ways in which local foodbanks could be supported.
To understand the role of a foodbank within a community and how we can support it.
Learning Objective
Success Criteria

What do you think are the fundamental rights every person should have?
Human Rights

The Right to Food

Do we experience real hunger in the UK?
When you think of people going hungry, where do you see it happening?
Hunger in the UK
The Facts
13m people live below the poverty line in the UK.
One in five mums in the UK skip a meal to feed their children.
Well over a million emergency food packs were given out in the UK in 2015-16. This number is increasing year-on-year.

A foodbank is a facility in the local community which takes donations of food and distributes them to people in crisis.
What Is a Foodbank?
Some foodbanks operate as warehouses or distribution centres – delivering food to smaller charities such as soup kitchens.
Other foodbanks distribute packages of food directly to clients, who are usually referred by an agency such as social services.
Foodbanks can be run by churches, community groups or dedicated charities. They are usually mostly staffed by volunteers.
It’s not known how many foodbanks there are in the UK in total, but the Trussell Trust, a dedicated foodbank charity, runs over 400 foodbanks throughout the UK. It’s thought that these account for around half of all emergency food supplied to people in need.

Who uses foodbanks?
With your partner, discuss what you think a typical foodbank client will be like. What factors contribute to them needing a foodbank?
Who Needs Them?
The following are some examples of people referred to the foodbank…

Peter Stokes has worked as a builder for 25 years. He is 44 years old and has a wife, Mary, and three children.
Two months ago, Peter suffered a stroke and lost the use of his left arm. He’s now unable to work as a builder and is undergoing intensive physiotherapy.
His wife, Mary, works full-time as a teacher at the local school.
Peter is entitled to sick pay from the government, but his claim has not been processed yet. In order to be able to pay their mortgage this month, he and Mary have had to use their local foodbank to feed their family.
Who Needs Them? The Stokes Family

Lena has worked as an NHS nurse for forty years; for 20 of those she has lived in the same small council flat. Last year she retired, and she now volunteers for various local charities.
Last month, Lena was told that there would be a change to the way her housing benefit is calculated. This means that she is struggling to pay the bills this month. She needs to use the foodbank or she will be unable to pay her electricity bill.
Who Needs Them? Lena Baniak

Amena and Tarek Omar and their two children made a long and arduous journey to the UK to escape the devastating civil war in Syria. They left behind almost all their possessions in order to be able to travel.
Amena is a journalist and Tarek is a doctor, but both are currently not allowed to work in the UK. They have been temporarily housed in Bed and Breakfast accommodation. Until their paperwork is fully processed, they need the help of the foodbank to feed their family.
Who Needs Them? The Omar Family

Tanya is a single mum to a five-year-old daughter. Her partner left her three years ago.
Tanya works full time at a local café and is also doing a college course to improve her qualifications. Despite working full-time, she is currently on a very low income and only just scrapes by every week.
Last week, her daughter Maisie was ill and so couldn’t go to nursery. That meant that Tanya couldn’t go to work and so wasn’t paid.
Tanya is £30 short this week – she needs a foodbank voucher in order to feed herself and Maisie until pay day on Friday.
Who Needs Them? Tanya Lees

Foodbank clients are usually going through some sort of crisis – they need help and support.
Who Needs Them? Foodbank Clients
Foodbanks operate in different ways – some give food to anyone who asks, and some require that clients are referred by outside agencies such as schools, social services, churches, doctors surgeries, care centres and probation teams.
While they are at the foodbank, clients can usually pick up helpful literature or get advice from volunteers on other agencies who can help them.

Each foodbank is different, but the following is a typical process for a foodbank giving out crisis packages to clients.
The Foodbank Journey

Each foodbank is different, but the following is a typical process for a foodbank giving out crisis packages to clients.
The Foodbank Journey

Each foodbank is different, but the following is a typical process for a foodbank giving out crisis packages to clients.
The Foodbank Journey

Each foodbank is different, but the following is a typical process for a foodbank giving out crisis packages to clients.
The Foodbank Journey
Foodbank Clients visit the foodbank at one of the allotted distribution times, with a voucher given to them by a referral agency. Trained volunteers talk to them and ask them what items they are in need of, and a foodbank crisis package is made up for the client, who takes it away using their own bags.

Foodbanks which give out packages to clients, usually ensure that three days-worth of food is included.
The Foodbank Package
Key Question: What would you put in a Foodbank crisis package?
Tins and packets. Usually, no fresh or chilled food is included because the foodbank can’t store it and some Foodbank clients will not have access to a fridge.
Sometimes, food is express or quick-cook, as some clients will not have access to cooking facilities other than a kettle.
Foodbank packages are nutritionally balanced as far as possible.
Additional items, such as sanitary products, toilet rolls and soap, are available if they have been donated – but often they aren’t standard.

Now you’ve learned about foodbanks, see if you can sort the facts from the fiction with the Foodbank Fact or Fiction Cards
Knowledge Check

Design a poster encouraging people to donate to their local foodbank and including details of what they can donate.
Apply Your Knowledge!
Write a short scene, depicting what someone might expect when they visit a foodbank for the first time.
Create a marketing campaign for your local foodbank. How will you get people involved in donating and volunteering?
Write a letter to your local newspaper, telling people about their
local foodbank.
Write a speech for a school assembly, encouraging people to support their local foodbank.

Find out where your local foodbank is.
What Can You Do to Help?
Hold a fundraising event to raise money for the foodbank.
Volunteer to help out at the foodbank.
Run an event to collect food donations for your foodbank – this could be a reverse advent calendar at Christmas, a Harvest Festival drive in the autumn, or a Lent Promise at Easter.
What can you do to help your local foodbank?
What else can you think of?