I Asked Food Banks What They Truly Need This Christmas, And They All Said The Same Thing |
This December, we’re championing kindness in all its forms through HuffPost UK’s Kindness Advent Calendar. Check back daily (until 24 December) for new stories focusing on how individuals and communities are going above and beyond to help others in their times of need.
As Christmas draws ever closer, in food banks and community centres across the country, demand for essentials is growing.
Lynda Battarbee, director of operations at 1,400-strong food bank organisation Trussell, told HuffPost UK: “Winter is often the busiest time for food banks as temperatures start to drop and energy bills begin to rise, and many food banks are telling us they are already at breaking point.”
But what is the best way to support your local food bank this year?
We spoke to Battarbee and Rachel Ledwith, Head of Community Engagement at The Felix Project (which, though not a direct food bank, supplies high-quality surplus food for “upwards of 1,200 different community organisations and schools across London”), about what they actually need at this busy time.
Though both shared some ways of helping I hadn’t expected, they agreed on one core principle: listening to the needs of the community you’re helping, rather than deciding what a food bank’s needs look like ahead of donating, is key.
What does my local food bank really need?
Perhaps a more outdated idea of food banks goes like this: you donate old cans to an organisation, they deliver them to those in need, and everyone’s happy.
Though the spirit of giving is welcome, however, Ledwith told us this isn’t always the most efficient way to help.
She shared: “I don’t think there is any organisation that would turn down money, because money can be used in so many different ways... [but] there definitely are........