WATERLOO FOODBANK
For people on low incomes, a sudden crisis – redundancy, benefit delay, illness or even an unexpected bill – can mean going hungry. Every day parents skip meals to feed their children and people are forced to choose between paying the rent or eating.
Waterloo Foodbank exists to provide emergency support to local people in crisis by giving them three days of nutritionally-balanced food. Since our launch in early 2012 we’ve given away almost 75 tonnes of food (that’s about the weight of nine double-decker buses!) to almost 10,000 people in need, including 3,500 local children.
We are part of The Trussell Trust’s UK-wide foodbank network, and together we provide food to thousands of people nationwide every year. The Foodbank is hosted at the Oasis Centre, St. James Wateroo and St George the Martyr on behalf of South Bank Churches.
We work with local frontline care professionals, such as schools, charities, housing associations, GPs, health visitors and churches, to identify those in need. They distribute vouchers that the client then exchanges for food. When clients arrive at the Foodbank, we offer them the chance to meet with a volunteer, so they can be signposted to organisations able to help combat the longer-term problems.
All food we give out is donated from our local community, and the Waterloo Foodbank offers an opportunity for the community to contribute to, and support those less fortunate, in a simple and practical way.
Get Involved
Donate Money
You can donate money to the Foodbank as a one-off or set up a standing order online. This link will bring you to our general fundraising page. Once you get there, just add a note that your donation is for the Foodbank. Money donated will go towards buying specific food items that we have run out of, as well as supporting the running costs of the project. If you’d prefer to do this offline you can download it here: OCW-standing-order-0917.
Opening Hours
We need people to welcome and chat to our clients and make up food parcels during our opening hours, which are:
- Monday’s (9:30-11:30) at St George the Martyr.
- Tuesday’s (1-2.30pm) at the Oasis Centre
- Wednesday’s (3-5pm) at St. John’s Waterloo
- Thursday’s (2.30-4.00pm) at St George the Martyr.
- Friday’s (10am-midday) and Saturday’s (10am-midday) at the Oasis Centre
If you are able to commit to any of these days, no matter how frequently, please email foodbank@oasiswaterloo.org
Donate Food
If you have any non-perishable food to donate, we would love to receive it! You can drop off donated food to the Oasis Centre from Monday to Saturday, 9am-5pm. Here’s the list of food we ask for:
- Milk (UHT or powdered)
- Sugar (500g)
- Rice
- Fruit juice (cartons)
- Pasta sauces
- Sponge pudding (tinned)
- Tomatoes (tinned)
- Tinned vegetables
- Rice pudding (tinned)
- Instant coffee
- Instant mash potato
- Tinned meat/fish
- Tinned fruit
- Jam
- Biscuits or Snack Bars
- Noodles
2. Toiletries
3. Sanitary products
4. Nappies
5. Household Items – Washing up liquid and washing powder.
