the first newsletter from dover foodbank courtesy of alex goodier.
We wanted to start the first Dover foodbank Newsletter with a huge Thank You!! The Dover
foodbank has been able to open with the 3 tonnes of food it required.
Setting up a foodbank from scratch is a large project requiring involvement from the entire
community. We have had overwhelming support from every area of the community and for
this we are very grateful. We were able to open as expected and to start helping those in
food crisis in Dover.
We continue to need your support to keep the foodbank running. We will keep the food
thermometer updated on our website with the stock totals. We ideally, need to have 3
tonnes of food in stock.
The newsletter will come out periodically with articles which are more in depth than we can
put on our website. We will make the newsletters downloadable so that anyone can access
them at any time.
There has been a lot of hard work which has gone into getting the foodbank setup, but this is
only the beginning. If you would like to help in any way, please email us. We have a wide
variety of ways you can help. Thank you for your help and support in advance, the foodbank
can only continue with it.
How to Keep up to Date?
Who Uses the Foodbank?
We have a variety of ways to keep up to date with the foodbank. The first place to
look should always be the Dover foodbank Website. In addition, we also work hard to
keep the local newspapers and Dover forum up to date with the latest information.
If you are skilled in the area of social media and would like to volunteer some time for
the foodbank, please email us at
doverfoodbank@yahoo.co.uk. We'd love to
hear from you.
The Dover foodbank is for local people incrisis who do not have any food. In the
Dover community some people are struggling to feed their families and
themselves for a variety of reasons.
Those finding themselves in difficulty can get help as we have many good programs in
Dover. The Dover Gateway is the best place to start when help is needed. With a
voucher, the foodbank provides three daysof emergency food which usually bridges
the gap before other programs kick in.
The distribution centre opening times are
supplied when a voucher is issued.
Footprints, The Beacon, 37 London Rd, Dover, Kent CT16 1AL
Old Park Community Centre, Gordon Rd,Dover, Kent CT16 2ET
A Voucher is Required to use the foodbank.
The following agencies can provide a
voucher:
Dover Gateway - 69-71 Castle Street, Dover CT16 1PD
Citizens Advice Bureau -Dover Gateway
Sanctuary Supported Living - Dover Gateway
Health Trainers (NHS) -Dover Gateway & Discovery Centre
Age UK - Riverside Centre, Maison Dieu Road, CT16 1RL
Agencies with Vouchers
What happens at a Distribution Centre?
Our distribution centres are where someone with a foodbank voucher actually collects their
food. It is important to remember that it can be very stressful for someone to admit they
need help with basic necessities like food. It can take a great deal of courage for someone
to admit they need a voucher to the foodbank, however it takes more courage to actually go
and receive it. There are a variety of reasons for this, but one of the reasons, is not knowing
what will happen when they arrive.
When someone walks through the doors of a distribution centre they will receive a warm
greeting and the offer of a nice hot brew with a biscuit. Sometimes it's been a long time
since they have had anything to eat. The person will hand in their voucher. One of our
trained volunteers will go and put together enough food for 3 days for each person listed on
the voucher. While the food is being gathered the person will have the opportunity to chat
to another trained volunteers. This is a very important part of the process, as the volunteer
not only has time to listen but can help point them to other places for help.
The final step is to give the necessary groceries to the person in normal shopping bags.
Shopping bags seem like a small thing, but it is important that the person can go out with
dignity and that the groceries are bagged in a standard way.
on the front page of our web site you may see a thermometer which shows how much food
we have in stock. This is important because if we don't have enough food donated by the
community we cannot keep the food bank running.
We are often asked how much food it takes to make 3 tonnes, or to feed a single person. We
are not used to thinking of our own weekly shop in terms of tonnes so it can be difficult to
understand how much food the foodbank needs.
Listed below are answers to a couple of the questions we get asked most often.
How Much is 3 tonnes of Food?
3 tonnes of non-perishable food will roughly fill a large garage. According to Tesco's
calculations, it would cost in the region of £5,070 and would feed approximately 120 large
families, or 150 small families, or 300 couples/singles - each for 3 days.
How Much Food Does One Person Receive for 3 Days?
The items can vary but we always aim to give a balanced diet for the 3 days. This is a
sample list for one person:
How Much Food Does it Take?
. 1 Small Packet of Cereal
. 2 Tins/Packets of Soup
. 2 Small Tins of Beans or Spaghetti in Sauce
. 2 Small Tins of Tomatoes/Pasta Sauce
. 2 Small Tins of Vegetables
. 2 Small Tins of Meat or Vegetarian
. 1 Small Tin of Fish
. 2 Small Tins of Fruit
. 1 Standard Tin of Rice Pudding
. 1 Small Packet of Biscuits
. 500g of Sugar
. 500g of Pasta/Rice/Noodles
. 40 Tea Bags or Small Jar of Coffee
. 1 Carton of Juice
. 1 Carton or Packet of Milk (UHT or Powdered milk).
We also collect baby food, toiletries, and pet food. Please
see the website for the most current list of foods required. there are a vaiety of ways we can collect
food. We have collections at the local supermarkets throughout the year. We will
post on the website the supermarkets collections as they are scheduled.
We also supply food collection bins for businesses, schools, and churches. Can your
organisation be a regular drop point or a collect for special occasions? Please contact
us for more details.
Food collection boxes, shelving for storage,transport and printing costs are just some of
the expenses involved in setting-up and organising a foodbank. It has been encouraging
to see so many get involved in helping with the start-up phase of the Dover foodbank, but that
is only the beginning. A regular donation to support the Dover foodbank can be made by
completing a standing order form found on the Dover foodbank website
(dover.foodbank.org.uk/get-involved) - send it in together with the completed Gift Aid Form,
which will increase the amount of your donation by 25% at no extra cost to you (if you
are a UK tax payer). One-off donations are also welcome - but again, please send in a Gift Aid
Form with it. Cheques should be made to "Dover Food Bank". Every donation will help
people in crisis, so your donations - no matter how small - will make a real difference.
What About Cash Donations?
There are a variety of ways that volunteers can support Dover Foodbank.
Here are some of the main ones with descriptions of what the roles involve.
Helping with Supermarket Collections
Collections will be arranged in all the major supermarkets in the Dover area.
We need at least 6-10 people in each team to cover the chosen day. Between
them (generally 1 -2 hrs slots); to give 'shopping lists' to the public in the store;
to be friendly and explain who we are; to collect the donated food when customers
leave the store and to deliver the donations back to the warehouse.
Training will be given.
Helping in the Warehouse
Team members will be involved in sorting, weighing and stacking, donated
food. They will make up stock orders & may deliver boxes to the Foodbank
centres. Some will upload data to the Trussell Trust online data system.
Training will be given for all aspects of the work, but volunteers need to be
physically fit.
Administration
This covers a variety of areas which includes Vouchers, Emails, Website,
Facebook, and Twitter. These require computer skills and training. Please
specify which of the areas in admin you are most interested in helping with.
One off Events
They may relate to specialist help like operating a sound desk or projection
equipment or preparing and serving meals or refreshments.
http://dover.foodbank.org.uk/