This has been a challenging time for Cobham Area Foodbank. Hugh Bryant stood down as general manager at the end of 2014, and Daisy Bates took over until she in turn retired, at the end of August 2015. Hugh Bryant offered to resume duties as manager, and was duly re-elected by the trustees. At the same time, four of the founders retired as trustees, and we record thanks to them for their hard work.
In the early months of 2015 a new policy was pursued, intended to avoid a ‘dependency culture’ among clients, which required food voucher issuers to obtain clearance from the manager if more than three food vouchers were to be issued to a client. As a result – partly because voucher issuers did not have time to make the calls required, and partly because the clients were put off – usage of the Foodbank dropped drastically. Some weeks there were no clients at all. But at the same time we were told, for instance by Oasis Childcare Centre and Cobham Centre for the Community, that many former clients, though deterred from applying for food vouchers, were still hungry and without the means to purchase food.
The retiring trustees had believed that the need for the Foodbank had all but disappeared, and had opened discussions with other neighbouring food banks with a view to our Foodbank merging with them. Very limited fundraising had been undertaken, and a decision had been taken to dispose of our van.
At the instigation of Churches Together, our founders, the policy of restricting the number of vouchers which our distributors can issue without reference back was withdrawn, and the previous commitment was reinstated, that we should provide food for as long as the clients need it and are unable to buy it, for whatever reason, without limit. The decision to get rid of our van was reversed.
As well as Hugh Bryant being re-appointed as general manager, Revd Godfrey Hilliard, chair of Churches Together, was appointed as trustee and chair of trustees of the Foodbank, together with Christina van Roest and Peter Wall. Arnie Gabbott and Hugh Bryant had continued as trustees. In December 2015, Claire Smith was appointed as Treasurer of the Foodbank, and has been elected as trustee. At the same time Arnie Gabbott retired as trustee.
It has been recognised that the concept of ‘dependency’ is not relevant in today’s circumstances in this area. Clients find themselves without enough money, even when they are employed; there are no council houses left, and all must rent from housing associations or private landlords, there being no limit to the amount of rent increases which can be imposed, and in circumstances where government benefit changes have reduced the housing benefit available.
We have, for instance, encountered a situation where a Cobham family, husband and wife with two teenage children, both parents employed (but on very low wages), found themselves on a Monday with only a few vegetables to feed the family until pay day, Friday. We delivered food to them immediately.
In addition, we continue to work closely with Oasis Childcare Centre, whose clients are often the victims of domestic violence, mothers with dependent children, who need long-term counselling and support before there can be any chance of a return to work.
These sort of scenarios are becoming more common. It would be cruel and inappropriate to restrict the number of food vouchers available in such circumstances, where there is no realistic chance of the clients being able to improve their own finances by their own efforts alone in the short- and medium-term future.
We remain subscribers to the Trussell Trust network. Our experience locally mirrors the Trussell Trust’s national perspective, according to which the network is being refocused away from short-term emergency need towards a holistic ‘More than Food’ approach, where food banks will coordinate a variety of services for people in need.
We have rebuilt our client base – most weeks we are providing food for 20-30 people, including a varying number of children.
So far as finances are concerned, the most urgent task has been to find a replacement for the generous support which Cargill plc used to provide. They met the cost of our van’s contract hire in full; however they have moved out of Cobham and now support the food bank local to them in their new location. We have undertaken a vigorous fund-raising effort, coupled with renegotiating the basis of financing the van, so that by November 2017 we will own it outright. We thank Rossetts, the Mercedes truck dealers who have supplied the van, who have contributed free maintenance for the next two years.
Owing to the generosity of many donors, including substantial grants from St Andrew’s, Cobham, St Andrew’s, Oxshott, Berkeley Homes, RS Williams Ltd, FEDORA, Cobham Combined Charities, The Bishop of Guildford’s Foundation and many others, we now have sufficient funding in hand to cover the next 12 months’ planned expenditure. We will continue our efforts in order to build up an endowment for future contingencies and growth.
As well as from Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Starbucks, St Andrew’s School, Parkside School and the ACS, together with the churches in Cobham, Oxshott and Stoke D’Abernon, we are receiving food collections from two churches in East Horsley, Horsley Evangelical Church (HEC) and St Martin’s. HEC is doing some investigative work to see if there is a sufficient need to establish a distribution centre there. If it is, we need to clear with Trussell Trust that we can expand our area. In the meantime, we will appoint voucher issuers in the Horsleys and invite clients either to come to Cobham or request home deliveries, which we are happy to undertake.
Christina van Roest coordinates our approximately 60 active volunteers, and manages the Distribution Centre at Cobham Methodist Church, along with her fellow shift leaders Marilyn Hatch and Michael Flaxman.
With Peter Wall, Christina also handles data entry, recording all our receipts and delivery of food in the Trussell Trust system, which records by weight quantities taken in and delivered to clients. The reasons which have produced a need for food from the Foodbank are recorded, under various pre-determined categories specified in the food vouchers. A report, showing statistics from our opening in December 2013 to date, including our food bank’s clients’ causes of need, is attached. (Please note that the Foodbank opened in 2013, not 2010 as shown in the spreadsheets – it is the start date of the Trussell Trust data system which records the statistics.)
The warehouse is managed by Judith and David Robinson, and volunteer duty rotas are prepared by Sylvia Williams.
As well as overall management, Hugh Bryant continues to oversee the transport operation. We have 8 approved drivers, who must demonstrate that they are competent drivers of our 3.5t Mercedes Sprinter van and have a clean driving licence, and 10 driver’s mates. There are three van rounds a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, collecting food, delivering it to the warehouse, and delivering from the warehouse to the distribution centre.
The Foodbank is now back on an even keel, and is meeting the needs of a significant number of local people. We still need to try to reach old people, who may not be aware of what we can offer, or may be shy of asking for vouchers, although they are in need.
We are very grateful to our volunteers, for hard work and their giving up valuable time, and to our many generous donors. Without the combination of the volunteers’ hard work and the donors’ generosity, the Foodbank would be unable to work.
Hugh Bryant
13th February 2016
Link to Vouchers Report: http://imgur.com/YqAS0jL
