Fundraising successes, but the cost of running Finchley Foodbank continues to challenge
We are celebrating a £20,000 donation from the National Lottery Community Fund towards the cost of running the Foodbank.
The National Lottery Community Fund distributes funding to initiatives that support communities to come together, be environmentally sustainable, help children and young people thrive and enable people to live healthier lives. We are thrilled with the donation to support our operations. Thank you National Lottery players!
In addition, we proud to share the news that The George Michael Fund is supporting Finchley Foodbank too. Born in East Finchley, where we are based, acclaimed singer songwriter, George Michael was a tremendous supporter of good causes. The George Michael Fund builds on this legacy, and we’re thrilled to benefit from a generous pledge to support our work for the next three years.
Finchley Foodbank chair of trustees Paul Woodward said “We are very grateful to the National Lottery Community Fund and The George Michael Fund for their wonderful donations towards our work. These sums are much needed. It currently costs £12,000 a month to run Finchley Foodbank. It’s a sad fact of life that people who are really struggling to make ends meet, for one reason or another, continue to rely on us to put food on the table for them and their families. This funding is an important boost as we continue to support our local community.”
Finchley Foodbank has been supporting people in need in Barnet since 2013. We have a team of 200 volunteers who run our weekly sessions for people to collect essential food and toiletries. Our Manager Rachel Nelson says: “It’s always a challenge to have enough stock despite wonderful supporters. Like other food banks, we have to top up the donations we receive. Two hundred people a week visit the foodbank, representing over 550 people - including children – in total who don’t have enough food. That number’s going up every week.
To keep going, we fundraise in order to be able to buy much-needed items and supplement donated stock. This pays particularly for essentials like fresh fruit and veg, toiletries and eggs, which we simply don’t have enough of, if we don’t buy them.
It costs a lot of money to run a food bank. Every contribution, however small, is important and gratefully received.”
If you would like to support us, please donate here or visit our website at https://www.finchleyfoodbank.org.uk/. And don’t forget to make a Gift Aid Declaration if you can, it increases the value of your donation by 25%.