Foodbanks provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty; in the UK, more than 14 million people are living in poverty – including 4.5 million children. Food poverty, social isolation and unemployment affect many people across the UK,with many people having limited funds to buy food for themselves and their loved ones. In 2020/21 approximately 2.5 million people used a foodbank in the United Kingdom, over 600 thousand more than the previous year. The number of foodbank users has increased every year, from 346,992 people using foodbanks at the time of SWAN’s genesis.
SWAN Foodbank which has been running since 2012 by our amazing team of committed volunteers, provides food parcels to the community. Over the past 12 months we have provided food parcels to over many families and during the lockdown we provided door to door food parcels deliveries. In January 2022 we opened our second weekly Foodbank at our Community Hub in Croydon.
We are supported by a number of organisations and receive weekly food donations from Dons Charity, the Felix Project, Critical NHS, JR Butchers, and supermarkets such as Lidl’s, Waitrose, M&S, Aldi, and Tesco.
We also receive regular donations from our local community including local schools and generous donors.