Give Help
Partner with us
Your business, community group or organisation could help us make a real difference in the local community.
Workplaces and businesses can help the foodbank with collections, donations, charity day volunteering, sponsorship and organisational support.
Organisations helping Southend Foodbank
There are many examples of local businesses, independent traders and organisations doing amazing things – could your workplace try something like this?
- Host a food donation point open the public, like the Blue Boar and Spread Eagle pubs, Fairytale Lashes in Rayleigh and Truly Vi at Shoeburyness station
- Hold a food drive, working together to collect donations, like Laser 24
- Put a collection can on the counter, like Leigh publicans
- Give money, like Chalkwell Ward Residents Association
- Raise money through your work, like Rayleigh Fruit and Veg, Piperoni, or local artist Grace Edkins and local hand painter Meghan at Orna.
- Host a fundraiser, like Hadleigh Park Cycles or Lee at Tesco/Esso Southchurch
- Run a raffle, like Fans Supporting Southend Foodbanks
- Enter the Colourthon as a team and raise sponsorship, like Southend Labour group
- Provide volunteers for supermarket collection day teams, like Southend HSBC
- Give useful items of stock, like carrier bags or items for guests
- Give services or products for free or heavily discounted, like Jo at Just Love Reading
- Become a corporate partner working with Trussell Trust nationally.
More substantial working relationships and sponsorship arrangements are also very welcome. We’re particularly interested in sourcing a van to help with collections and distribution – could your business provide or sponsor one?
Find out more about tax relief available for businesses that give to charity gov.uk/tax-limited-company-gives-to-charity
Inviting Southend Foodbank to visit your organisation
Southend Foodbank has a story to tell! Whether it’s a school assembly, adult education, community group or professional development, we can deliver an informative session. We can talk about what we do, who we support, how we work, why the need for foodbanks has been rising, and what can change to challenge food poverty and work towards a future without hunger. If you’ve read this far on our website, you probably already have some interest and knowledge about the foodbank! However, reaching beyond our existing supporters is important for a range of outcomes, including awareness, support, and finding opportunities for connection and change. To invite us, please get in touch with an outline of what you would like to get out of a visit, who we’d be talking to and any specific topics that interest you, via [email protected]
Organisations providing referrals
Southend Foodbank works on a referral model, where organisations across the community are able to offer a foodbank voucher to their members or clients (alongside a self-referral pathway through calling Citizens Advice directly). This is important for reaching people who might need help but aren’t sure how to get support or are reluctant to ask. Schools, GPs and health centres, mental health services, police, social work teams, churches, HAF providers, housing associations and other community organisations are voucher holders. Referral agencies receive training in how to offer a referral and are connected to the foodbank through a designated contact, who provides ongoing support and information. If you work in a community setting with people who might be struggling with food poverty, and would like to consider becoming a referral agency, please get in touch for more information via [email protected]
Schools in Southend and Rochford
Schools in the area are invited to become voucher holders and make referrals to Southend Foodbank. If your school is not currently offering foodbank referrals and you’d like to start, please get in contact.
We also invite local schools to run a Harvest collection for Southend Foodbank. Each year we offer basic materials for a Harvest collection, such as challenge sheets or photo boards, as well as offering to come to your school to deliver an assembly. We can also arrange for Harvest donations to be picked up from your school. In 2021, the foodbank’s Let’s Make a Meal harvest campaign collected 7000 meals and made a splash in the local paper. We also can also provide materials for alternative activities, including other seasonal collections and non-uniform days. To get involved, please contact us.
To discuss any ideas for workplace engagement, support or fundraising, please get in contact. If your organisation shares our belief that no-one should go hungry in our local area, we would love to hear from you.