Ely Foodbank hopes to have a collection and distribution service running in Sutton by the autumn. The Foodbank has already secured the agreement of the Parish Council to provide accommodation at The Glebe, and now needs to find at least 15 volunteers to help run the service in Sutton.

Volunteers will need to be available for about an hour and half once a week, on a rota basis.  Training will be provided before the service opens, which organisers hope will be in October or early November.

If you would be interested in volunteering for the Foodbank in Sutton please email Ely Foodbank no later than Monday 8 September.  Meetings about the Foodbank will be held in Ely at 3pm on Tuesday 9 and Tuesday 16 September, and potential volunteers will be very welcome – please email Ely Foodbank for details.

Background to the Foodbank

Launched 18 months ago with the remit to serve people within a 15 mile radius of Ely, Ely Foodbank provides a minimum of three days’ emergency food to people in crisis. This service has now expanded with Foodbank centres in Chatteris, Littleport, March and Soham – all part of the Ely Foodbank (Trussell Trust) partnership.

The main way food is donated is through regular giving by shoppers and supermarket collections. Volunteers engage the public at the stores by providing them with a Foodbank shopping list and asking them to buy extra items while shopping. These extra items are then donated to the Foodbank. Schools, churches, businesses and individuals also donate non-perishable in-date food to the Foodbank.

Once collected, the food is sorted by volunteers who check that it is in date and pack it into boxes ready to be given to people in need. Recipients obtain vouchers from care professionals such as doctors, health visitors, social workers, Citizens Advice Bureau staff, welfare officers, the police and probation officers. The vouchers can then be taken to a Foodbank distribution point where they are exchanged for food. The volunteers who distribute the food can also ‘signpost’ people in crisis to agencies able to provide help with their longer term issues.

More information about Ely Foodbank is available at www.elyfoodbank.org.uk

(With acknowledgement to Alan and Lynne Williams)