FOODBANKS
‘It can happen
to anybody’
“We don’t think anyone
in our community should
have to face going
hungry,” said the manager
of the local foodbank
offering emergency food
and support to people
in crisis.
E
aling Foodbank is a registered
charity run by volunteers and
three part-time employees.
It was set up in 2013 and has
centres in Acton, Hanwell, Northolt,
Southall and two in Greenford;
with another due to open in Ealing
Broadway in February.
10
around ealing February 2019
Janet Fletcher is its manager. She said:
“People walk in with their head down
and their shoulders slumped. Some even
come in and sit down and burst into
tears because it’s all been too much.
“But at the foodbank they are
treated like a human being, with dignity
and respect, and are listened to. And
when they leave they look a little more
upright – a change is visible.”
You need vouchers to use foodbanks,
and to get a voucher you need to
be referred. The most
common types of
referrals to foodbanks
come from job centres
and Ealing Council’s
local welfare assistance
service. But Ealing
Foodbank actually has
more than 200 referral
partners, including
churches, GPs and even
some schools.