2024 REPORT FROM BILLERICAY FOODBANK
Billericay Foodbank is an inclusive project, welcoming people from all backgrounds to become part of its mission to serve the most vulnerable individuals and families in our local community.
2023 was another busy year for the Billericay Foodbank (BFB):
The single most important development has been moving premises and beginning work with our partners at
Hamelin Trust to provide opportunities for their ‘guests’ to gain some work experience,
build their confidence and possibly for some to think about entry to the labour market.
We have regularly and consistently delivered to over 100 households every week,
encouraging people to come to the Foodbank rather than relying on deliveries, and now
have 50% of our households collecting direct.
This takes us back to our original practice which we had to suspend during lock-down.
We have continued to receive donations from a wide range of sources, including churches,
schools, youth uniform organisations, supermarkets, local companies, community organisations,
sports clubs and numerous individuals and families who regularly drop off food and
the other items we need at the donation points situated across the town.
We have organised our own fund-raising events and
been the beneficiary of activities arranged by other groups.
New volunteers have joined us throughout the year, with others, who have supported us so faithfully,
changing role or moving on to new things.
So, while we expect things to change, there are some things that must always remain the same, that is, those which reflect the heart of what we do. We try to recognise and respond in the best way we can to the needs of the families and individuals we support.
Of course, our primary response is to ensure that we can help with the basic human need for food, but we know that so many of those we assist have other, often complex needs.
Volunteers
The operations of BFB depend on the work of volunteers, organised in teams to carry out various tasks throughout the week, ensuring that the service provided is consistent and reliable.
With over 75 people involved, drawn from across the whole community, the volunteers are the human-face of the Foodbank, and in their contact with those families and individuals we help, they show in practice the values that continue to underpin our work. These values might be summarised as; being non-judgemental; easy to access; non-bureaucratic and offering a friendly welcome.
The feedback received from the telephone surveys that have been undertaken clearly demonstrates the appreciation with which the service offered by BFB is received. As well as the food, people especially value the social contact they have with the Foodbank each week, frequently commenting about how respectful and kind they find the volunteers.
What this means is that the core values of the Foodbank, established from day one, are embodied not just in what we do, but the way in which we perform the routine tasks.
Social Media
Social media has come to play a big part in the life of BFB. A regular and lively presence on social media pages has maintained a profile that has helped to increase donations and kept the work of BFB at the forefront of people’s minds.
Future Vision
"There can be no true eucharist until all are fed."
The trustees have worked hard to consolidate the ‘core-business’ of BFB, and it remains a priority for us to ensure that we consistently deliver the weekly operational tasks of the Foodbank. We have also secured the governance of the charity through diligent financial management, and the writing and oversight of the essential policies required by the Charity Commission.
In 2024 we want to grow our vision and think more widely about how the ministry of the Foodbank might impact on the situations facing those people with whom we have developed relationships over the ‘longer-term'. We think this should be ‘food-related,’ challenging those issues that create the conditions of food poverty, but with practical and achievable outcomes on a scale meaningful for local families and individuals struggling to provide food for themselves.
"Speak up for those who have no voice, for the justice of all who are dispossessed." Proverbs 31 v8
As Christians, whose faith is incarnational, we have a responsibility to see the bigger picture and to offer a challenge to the social, political, and economic systems that foster injustices, inequalities and ways of living that are so different to those recorded in the gospel narratives as having been talked about by Jesus.
How we do this in a town like Billericay is part of the challenge we have set ourselves for our future visioning.
Conclusion
2023 was hectic at times, but always worthwhile. We look forward in faith to the coming year, knowing we serve a faithful God who provides abundantly for all our needs and whose heart is for the poor.
We remain thankful to all those who provide places for us to receive donations, and especially for the prayers of the Christian churches across the town, providing vital support for this ministry.