As Trussell launches its latest summer campaign, Vodafone UK News met with staff at the West Berks Foodbank to hear how they navigate one of the busiest periods of the year.
Upon visiting a food bank in the Trussell community for the first time, every individual is offered a seat, a cup of tea, and a chat.
While the essentials they need are getting packed up in the background, the person they’re sitting down with is trying to find out the reason for their visit, gently asking questions like: ‘why are things difficult at the moment, what’s changed this month, and how can we help?’
“And that’s where we find out, for instance, about the housing association that hasn’t fixed their boiler or the massive vet’s bill for the family’s pet cat or dog,” says Fran Chamings, Foodbank Director at West Berks Foodbank.
This is where the benefits of being part of the Trussell community really come into play. The organisation, which has grown to a community of more than 1,400 food bank centres across the UK, provides invaluable signposting to lots of other charities.
“So, if someone comes in with a broken fridge freezer, we will contact our friends at Community Furniture Project who can often help us,” Fran.
“It’s also the link with Trussell that allows us to have a relationship with Vodafone, so we do the same with connectivity – just as we do with bikes for people that can’t otherwise travel to their job or school uniform for kids that need it.”
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Being there for families
With one in four young children at risk of needing support, food banks across the UK are seeing a growing number of families with young children visit their sites. And those in the West Berkshire area are no different.
“Every summer, we run a scheme where we contact every school in West Berkshire and ask them to highlight any families who are in need of extra support,” says Laura Iaschi, Foodbank Manager.
“46 schools responded this year, with around 1,200 kids in total. So we have three weeks now to get all this food delivered to the schools, which is a bit of a logistical challenge.”
And with almost 250,000 parcels distributed to children in the UK throughout summer 2024, Trussell is gearing up for another busy period this year.
A situation that is only exacerbated by overstretched and underfunded local services, leaving 36% of people having not received any advice from other services prior to their latest referral to the food bank.
“We’ve got so many working families too that may not meet the threshold to get any support,” adds Fran.
“But all that needs to happen is for them to come off their fixed mortgage rate and see their bills go up by £400, which takes away their emergency fund every month. So that’s a real change for us – the fact that it’s so many working families.”
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A summer of service
Beyond food, Trussell works with various organisations to supply these families with products or services that are increasingly seen as an essential part of daily modern life – connectivity being one.
“Having access to the internet is one of those things that a lot of us class as essential,” says Fran, “but it’s actually something that is going in people’s budgets.
“It’s incredibly important to people. Parents, for instance, need that contact with the school to find out if there’s something wrong with their kids.”
As part of its work with Trussell, Vodafone supplies SIM cards loaded with 40GB of data, plus free UK calls and texts, each month for six months. To date, 220,000 have been donated through the company’s everyone.connected initiative.
Having access to the internet is one of those things that a lot of us class as essential, but it’s actually something that is going in people’s budgets.
The SIMs are then dispersed to a number of the food banks in the Trussell community, providing connectivity to those most in need of it. This doesn’t just include families, however.
“We give them to clients looking for work, which allows them to go online and find jobs,” explains Fran. “We give them to people that are rough sleepers, because we need to be able to get hold of them, and they also need to be aware of all the emergency weather protocols.
“We will also speak to people that are in controlling relationships or experiencing domestic abuse. To be able to give somebody a ‘secret’ SIM, which allows them to go online, look for an exit strategy, and find support, can genuinely save a life.”
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Towards a fairer future
With 9.3 million people facing hardship throughout the UK – and 3 million of those being children – there has never been a more important time to offer a helping hand. After all, this support can often change lives.
“Because we are knowledgeable at signposting, supporting and advocacy,” says Fran, “the average use of our food bank is actually less than three times per household in a 12-month period.
“Food may be the gateway, but it’s really about coming in and speaking to people that, instead of judging, will try to help.”
For Trussell – and the food banks that are part of their community – the aim is to reach a future where individuals are connected to properly resourced services. In turn, helping to end the need for food banks in the UK altogether.
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