News

25 Jun 21

Wandsworth Council listens to our calls for increased local lifeline

We’re delighted that Wandsworth Council has listened to calls from local community groups like ours, and has this week announced its local lifeline for residents in severe hardship in the year ahead. We believe local welfare assistance like the Wandsworth Discretionary Social Fund (WDSF) can provide a lifeline for residents impacted by loss of work […]

Read more

15 Jun 21

Blog: Welcoming people seeking refuge and sanctuary

It’s Refugee Week 2021, a chance to celebrate the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary with us in the UK, including in Wandsworth. At Wandsworth Foodbank, we regularly support refugees, migrants and people seeking sanctuary who’ve been pulled into destitution, often due to restrictions of the government’s No Recourse to Public […]

Read more

13 May 21

New report finds extreme poverty pushes people to food bank doors

New research reveals people forced to food banks at start of pandemic faced extreme poverty, with just £248 a month to survive on after housing costs. Today, we welcome the Trussell Trust’s State of Hunger 2021, an expert study shedding light on groups of people across the UK disproportionately affected by hunger and the drivers behind food bank […]

Read more

1 Feb 21

‘The boost to Universal Credit has been a godsend’

Today the All Party Parliamentary Group on Poverty published its report calling for the government to keep the £20/week uplift to Universal Credit, and extend it to legacy benefits (which didn’t receive this Covid-19 boost). The report recognises that UK unemployment benefits are some of the lowest in Europe, and suggests that ‘…if the uplift […]

Read more

20 Jan 21

Foodbank centre leader helps vaccinate local people

We’re so proud of our colleague Sue who is volunteering as a Covid-19 vaccinator in a church hall in Tooting. In normal times, Sue leads our food bank centre in Furzedown. But while our centres are closed and we’re doing home deliveries, Sue is using her skills as a retired hospital consultant and retired vicar […]

Read more

7 Jan 21

Find help if you’re facing hardship this lockdown

If you’re facing hardship and can’t afford to buy the food you need this week, we’re here to help. There are three main ways to be referred to our Foodbank: Many local schools, GPs, children’s centres, mental health teams, housing associations can refer local people to Wandsworth Foodbank, so do ask someone that you’re in […]

Read more

7 Jan 21

We’ll keep supporting local people through this new lockdown

As we face rising Covid cases across the capital and a new lockdown, we know food banks like ours will sadly be busier than ever. Across Wandsworth, we’ve been supporting a growing number of local households who’ve been swept into severe hardship by loss of jobs or hours, illness, and benefit payments that aren’t covering […]

Read more

24 Dec 20

Christmas Eve at the food bank

We wish no one needed to use a food bank, but there was a lot of joy today to be able to ease a little of the hardship and stress for more than 70 households across Wandsworth borough, who’d been referred to us this week. One mother we delivered to texted us this afternoon to […]

Read more

23 Dec 20

A brief look back at 2020 in our new report

Covid-19 has shone a harsh light on already-existing causes of poverty and food bank use. We hope this new report, Covid-19: A view from the Foodbank, will help to shine a light on how we can help protect people in Wandsworth from further hardship, together. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve seen the need […]

Read more

9 Dec 20

Coconuts (and other unexpected blessings)

This week has been full of unexpected but completely on-time blessings. Lovely fruit juice from Pip Organic, just as we’re running low on juice. Lemons and other fruit and veg from Fareshare (we needed a lemon to go with a science kit for an 8-year-old child). Not our standard ask, but important for the 8-year-old […]

Read more