Christmas

Christmas is a busy time at the foodbank!

You can donate in our regular supermarket collection points whenever the shop is open.

Our warehouse is open for donations on additional days: Friday 20th December 11am - 2.30pm and Saturday 21st December 11am - 2.30pm. The warehouse will close at 2pm on Christmas Eve and re-open Monday 29th December, at 9am.

Our admin support finishes at 2pm on Christmas Eve, with out of office support on Friday 27th, then open as usual except for New Years Day (Wednesday 1st January).

Southend Foodbank is CLOSED on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day. The Belle Vue session on Tuesday 24th is earlier, running from 11.30am to 1.30pm. All other sessions are running as usual except Citizens Advice won't be attending. Everything goes back to normal from January 2nd. — Winter 2024 leaflet

Christmas closures and changes

Southend Foodbank has some minor changes this winter:

No Citizens Advice advisors from Friday 20th - January 2nd.

The Belle Vue session on 24th December is EARLIER, 11.30am - 1.30pm, for one day only.

We are CLOSED on Christmas Day and Boxing Day (25th, 26th), reopening on Friday 27th at Earls Hall.

We are CLOSED on New Years Day (1st January).

The next session at Eastwood and St Saviours Kings Road will be Wednesday 8th January, as both Wednesday sessions are closed for Christmas Day and New Years Day.

All foodbank sessions and admin support will run as usual from 2nd January.

Please note that other organisations where you can get foodbank vouchers are often closed for the holiday period, so please check ahead.

Citizens Advice in Southend has an emergency out-of-hours number through the holidays: 07503669359.

12 Crates of Christmas!

For the first crate of Christmas, Southend Foodbank asked for these...

Watch our 12 Crates of Christmas song, featuring local folk heroes the Famous Potatoes.

Find out more about donating to Southend Foodbank, including locations and opening times for drop-offs, on our Donate Food pages.

Reverse advent

In the run up to Christmas, take another look at advent with a Reverse Advent Calendar. It's not too late if you want to collect through advent but please make sure anything special for Christmas is donated by 13th December, to give us time to deliver festive items across our 8 centres.

Spread the cheer by collecting with your family, friends, church, community group or workplace.

You can download a colourful and print-friendly version of our reverse advent calendar.

A grid of 24 items of food to donate, arranged in an advent calendar grid, including: soup, shampoo, mince pies, tinned tomatoes, rice, deodorant, box of biscuits, tinned ham, tinned fish, pasta, jam, cereal, teabags, custard, long life fruit juice, instant mash, tinned vegetables, pasta sauce, tinned potatoes, selection box, toilet rolls, rice pudding, long life UHT milk, tinned fruit. — Southend Foodbank reverse advent calendar

Christmas collections

There will be extra supermarket collections through November and December, where you can give food, cash and cashless donations directly to foodbank volunteers in store.

Asda, Shoeburyness
Friday 13th December

Tesco Prince Avenue, Southend
Thursday 28th to Saturday 30th November

Waitrose, Fossetts Way
Thursday 12th December, Christmas customer evening 5pm to 7pm

Waitrose, Leigh-on-Sea
Saturday 16th November

If you have a couple of hours spare and would like to volunteer at these events, helping to collect donations and say lots of thank yous, please contact volunteers@southend.foodbank.org.uk