Find all the latest news and events from the foodbank. If you are a member of the press and would like to cover any of our stories please contact us, we'd be happy to work with you.
News and events
02/05/2012
Trussell Trust foodbanks have seen the biggest rise in numbers given emergency food since the charity began in 2000. Almost 350,000 people have received at least three days emergency food from Trussell Trust foodbanks during the last 12 months, nearly 100,000 more than anticipated and close to triple the number helped in 2011-12. Rising cost of living, static incomes, changes to benefits, underemployment and unemployment have meant increasing numbers of people in the UK have hit a crisis that forces them to go hungry. This dramatic rise in foodbank usage predates April’s welfare reforms, which could see numbers increase further in 2013-14.
24/01/2013
We're looking for volunteers to help run the foodbank. If you can spare a few hours a week, why not get in touch. There are lots of things that need doing from sorting food and fundraising to meeting clients and supermarket collections. Why not see where you fit in?
23/01/2013
Trussell Trust founders, Paddy and Carol Henderson, who started the Salisbury foodbank in their garden shed twelve years ago have been named in the Independent's list of the top 101 people of last year.
The Trussell Trust was founded in 1997 to help orphans in Bulgaria sleeping in the Central Rail Station. In 2000, a local woman from Salisbury challenged them to do something about the fact that she and her children were going hungry at home in Salisbury. Upon discovering that significant numbers of local people had to go hungry when faced with a short term crisis, Paddy and Carol founded the Salisbury foodbank in their garden shed to provide short-term emergency food. In 2004 a second foodbank was launched in Gloucester, and the Trussell Trust foodbank network has been growing ever since.
Read more in the Salisbury Journal here.
For the Independent's 101 Greatest Britons of 2012, go here.
And for more information about the Trussell Trust's work in Bulgaria and the UK, visit their website.
06/12/2012
The Trussell Trust is delighted to have won a prestigious Charity Times 'Charity of the Year' award and we would like to say a huge thank you to all our supporters - it's you who make what we do possible. The judges were impressed by the way that the foodbank network 'showed fantastic growth and huge success in a wide range of disparate communities'. The award is testament to the incredible efforts of foodbanks across the UK to address the problem of food poverty.
18/04/2012
Trussell Trust Executive Chairman Chris Mould was invited to David Cameron's Easter Celebration at 10 Downing Street recently in recognition of the important work that foodbanks are doing across the UK.Chris says: 'The Prime Minister's acknowledgement of foodbanks is testament to the incredible work of all those across the UK who have stepped up and launched foodbanks in their towns to stop people going hungry. It's a big well done to everyone involved.
18/04/2012
Of 2000 mothers surveyed by Netmums recently, 1 in 5 regularly go without meals to feed their children, 16% are being treated for stress-related illnesses and one third are borrowing money from friends and family to stay afloat. Most mothers stated that their situation is worse than a year ago with less money coming in.
Foodbanks meet mums in desperate situations every week. This week foodbank mum Donna was almost in tears as she told me that she couldn't afford birthday presents to give to her twins who will be 13 on Sunday. She said that her sons had asked to have a friend come to stay to celebrate their birthday but she hasn't said yes because she's not sure they can afford the extra food. Donna used to work in a school for children with Aspergers and Autism but is currently off work due to depression - which has been exacerbated by the family's financial worries. Her partner was recently made redundant and they are currently living on £38 per week due to mistakes with their benefits. This is the reality behind the statistics. Donna says she will be 'eternally grateful' for their foodbox. Without it she says she would have gone without food and had to try to scrape together enough money to give the children something, even just bread and butter. The family are keen to get back into work, that's the hope that keeps them going.
23/05/2011
You may know him for his roles in Love Actually and Pirates of the Caribbean, but actor Bill Nighy is a keen campaigner on social justice. As one of the voices of the Robin Hood Tax campaign, Bill wanted to find out more about UK poverty and Oxfam suggested that he visit a Trussell Trust foodbank!
Recently, we took Bill to Hammersmith and Fulham foodbank where he met foodbank clients, heard their stories and even packed a foodbox himself. At the end of his visit we asked Bill what he thought, he told us: 'It's very moving to come here in modern times to see a room incredibly well stocked with donated food for people who, through no fault of their own, have dropped through the cracks. The fact that the people here volunteer to help is both touching and exemplary. I salute all those involved.'
Watch Guardian online's film of Bill's visit