Hayes Community Foodbank

Bromley is a great place to live!

The London Borough of Bromley has a population of about 330,000, comfortably spread out over 58 square miles. It has excellent transport links, good schools, good leisure facilities, lots of green spaces, good restaurants, the Churchill Theatre and Bromley FC!

Its many famous residents include Enid Blyton, H.G. Wells, David Bowie, W.G. Grace and William Pitt.
There is high employment and high home ownership. Only 1.42% is local authority housing.
It has been voted the best London Borough to bring up young families.
Bromley is one of the best-run councils in London. Our Council Tax rates are relatively low.
Bromley has the second lowest poverty rate (15%) of all London Boroughs.

So… why do we need food banks!???

In and around Hayes, people are shocked to find out that there is financial hardship in the area severe enough that people can’t afford to buy food for their families.

This became more visible during Covid lockdown when parents of school children who usually receive free school meals were struggling to afford food for their children at home. The schools’ PTAs and local churches got together to collect and distribute donations of food, and The Hayes Community Food Bank came into being. Six years later, now a registered charity, it has grown considerably and runs out of Hayes Free Church in Pickhurst Lane.

The Foodbank actively supports 66 households and a further 108 households in the past. So in six years we have supported 174 families – hundreds and hundreds of children and adults.

We have a different operating model to most other foodbanks. Instead of a walk-in service, we deliver bespoke food and toiletry packages to the homes of the families that we support. As well as being one of the Trustees, I’m a delivery driver, so I see first-hand the impact that the service has and just how grateful the recipients are. Excited children have called me the kind food man; I’ve been told what a massive difference it makes to know that someone cares; there’s been tears, laughs and hundreds of Big Thank You moments!

The Foodbank has always depended entirely on two things to operate: volunteers and donations.

We have an amazing team of volunteers. Teams of sorters, packers and delivery drivers who give their time and talents week in, week out, selflessly to support others.

Donations come from numerous sources and in different forms. Six years since we began, the Hayes community continues to support us with donations of food and hygiene items each week. Some people bring their donations to the church, while others donate via collection points in Hayes shops. We also receive fresh food from FareShare and fresh bread, cakes and pastries from a local bakery each week. In addition, large quantities of items are donated via local churches, schools and fairs, at Harvest and Christmas, and just before the school summer holidays. Everything donated is carefully sorted and distributed by our volunteers.

In addition to donations of physical items, we also receive financial contributions from the public, from churches and from businesses, and we are sometimes awarded grants too. This money is used to fill the gaps.
Everyone involved with Hayes Community Foodbank is essential to its continued operation. It is clear that people care, deeply, about what we are doing. The reliability and efficiency of our volunteers and their cheerful willingness to do what is needed, rising to any challenge, coupled with the generous donations and support we receive from local people and businesses, all make what we do possible.

The objective of the charity is:

The relief of financial hardship, in Hayes, Kent, by the provision of food through a community foodbank ….’

It is, I think, helpful to regularly revisit this as it is the core of our work. However, it’s not just a food provision; we have helped with rehousing, clothing and furniture, as well as linking with schools, social services, environmental health, social prescribers and local councillors.

Most importantly, though, through our amazing team of volunteers, we continue to build relationships with people, many of whom feel as though there is no one ‘out there’ to help them. Our drivers play a key role in making people feel at ease, and they offer a non-judgemental listening ear. To be heard is incredibly powerful, particularly if you have few people in your life to listen.

Links with the local secondary schools have not only given us valuable donations but have also sent willing volunteers through the Duke of Edinburgh scheme. The Thursday team are great at welcoming these young people and showing them the ropes. Valuable skills like teamwork, stock management, food hygiene, packing and sorting are taught, but we are also showing them the value of community and what it means to be part of a compassionate community.

With ever-increasing bills and changes to working conditions and the benefit system, things look bleak for the most vulnerable in our community. Looking ahead, it will be key to build on existing relationships, like Trussell Trust and TBB, to work together to inform, encourage and enable people with a view of breaking the cycle of poverty.

We need to continue to make the voices of those we support heard. Many local people are shocked that there is a need for a foodbank here in Hayes. Raising awareness of the issues occurring in the lives of our community that lead to deprivation is key to understanding that action needs to be taken.

Trying to establish greater engagement with our local councillors by telling them what we are encountering in their Wards, in particular the poor standard of housing and lack of housing experienced by the most vulnerable in our communities.
It can seem like an overwhelming task, so please pray for God’s wisdom and strength as well as practical provision. His Love is unfailing and always makes a real difference for good.

On behalf of Hayes Community Food Bank and the families that we support, THANK YOU!

Andy