About
About our foodbank
Here is an introduction to our project.
Our foodbank is a project founded by local churches and community groups, working together towards stopping hunger in our local area. We work with a number of third party organisations, such as Big Yellow storage, who support our work. We provide approximately 2400 emergency food parcels each year to those who would otherwise go hungry.
The Richmond foodbank is part of the Vineyard Community Centre in central Richmond and it operates four other foodbank distribution centres in the borough, as well as operating as a hub for practical and social support.
When visitors come to the Richmond foodbank we offer a warm welcome as well as a free lunch or tea and cakes. Volunteer are ready to spend time listening to our visitors, offering hope and comfort and practical help at a time of crisis.
“..just like to say thank you for your help today with the food today. I’m very thankful for all you help, trying hard to hold back the tears then, and now writing this message. not used to people helping me.”
“I am a parent support advisor and yesterday came to your centre with a parent for an emergency food parcel. Thank you so much for your kindness and for giving the parent a warm lunch. She was very grateful and it was just what she needed. This parent is finding things very difficult at the moment and is not eating herself in order to feed her daughter.”
“Just to say a very big thank you for making a horrid, humiliating experience recede into the background because of the care and kindness shown to me yesterday. Bless you for the work you do to help those of us who have hit difficult times we never anticipated.”
“I have been approached by a patient for food vouchers. He has lost his job due to health problems and is not able to work. With the new benefits system he does now have to pay taxes for empty bedrooms as he has not been able to find a smaller apartment as he lives on his own. For the last few weeks he ran out of money and had to go without food for one, sometimes two days. He is a diabetic and it is dangerous for him.”
A short video of all our work can be viewed at: www.vineyardcommunity.org
