The distribution centre is where all the food comes after being sorted and weighed out of the warehouse. This is where people who have a foodbank voucher come to collect their food. We open 4 mornings a week between 10-12 Tuesday to Friday. Volunteers chat to people and pack their food for them – we have around 30 volunteers in this role. Phil, our Operations Manager, organises all the volunteers and makes sure everything is running smoothly. He also arranges deliveries for those people unable to access us in person.
A box of standard items – soup, beans, tomatoes/pasta sauce, vegetables, meat, fish, fruit, rice pudding/custard, puddings and instant mash for families, tea/coffee, fruit juice and milk – gets unpacked for the person (different boxes for different sized households) and they can then help themselves to their own cereal and extra items from the shelves which include spreads, sauces, sweet and savoury treats, toiletries, nappies etc. and we also have special dietary items such as gluten free and vegetarian/vegan.
Our current distribution centre is new and has only been open since April this year. We are hoping in the future, once all restrictions are lifted, to be able to go back to offering the people who use the foodbank refreshments and offer them extra services to help them back to a position where they don’t need to use the foodbank.
