Spotlighting our Supporters: Food Bank Aid

Every week, Finchley Foodbank provides vital essentials to local residents, but this wouldn’t be possible without our behind-the-scenes supporters. These are the individual donors, businesses, and charities that keep our shelves stocked. One of our biggest supporters is a fellow Barnet-based charity organisation, Food Bank Aid. We are very grateful to Food Bank Aid for distributing supplies to Finchley Foodbank, alongside thirty other foodbanks across North London and Hertfordshire. 

Located in the North Finchley retail park, this organisation’s hub is bustling with busy volunteers, all keen to prepare items and produce for delivery. General Manager Marcus Maughan explains that fundraiser events are a hugely important means of bringing in money, which then pays for deliveries to the hub. Marcus compares retailer prices and buys in bulk to ensure that the charity’s funds go as far as they can. He adds that part of Food Bank Aid’s strategy is to order less commonly donated items, such as oil and cat food, to ensure that these supplies are still available at local foodbanks. This means that when Finchley Foodbank sends a weekly electronic shopping list of most critically needed items, Food Bank Aid can deliver. This tailored support from Food Bank Aid helps to ensure that Finchley Foodbanks’s clients are never left without something important to them.

Food Bank Aid started during the pandemic, as a short term activity to help local foodbanks, with no plans to make it what it is today. Operating from her garage, Naomi Russell, founder of the charity, began recruiting volunteers, collecting donations, and delivering supplies to over a dozen nearby foodbanks, Finchley Foodbank among them. From humble beginnings, this grassroots organisation soon outgrew Naomi’s garage and moved into larger premises, where anyone could visit to find out more or leave a donation. Marcus became the charity’s first employee in 2021, and Naomi managed to negotiate the acquisition of a Tesco’s van at no cost, as the supermarket chain was starting to phase out diesel vehicles. With a growing team, a base for operations, and its own delivery service, Food Bank Aid was ready to expand into the force for good it is today.

Finchley Foodbank has enjoyed a close relationship with Food Bank Aid since its formation five years ago. With scarcely a five-minute drive between the two charities, we are delighted to have been among the first to start receiving their invaluable support. Ever the good neighbour, Food Bank Aid typically endeavours to send us a little extra stock to offset any potential reduction in donations as a result of sharing the same donor pool in Finchley – a gesture which speaks to the considerate and sustainable nature of the partnership. To top it off, Marcus is the husband of our own Anna Maughan, who has been volunteering with Finchley Foodbank for over 11 years and was previously the Manager at Finchley Foodbank. It seems that Finchley Foodbank and Food Bank Aid are joined at the hip by shared goals, community interests, years of committed support, friendships, and even family ties.

Food Bank Aid and Finchley Foodbank working together!

Food Bank Aid Manager Marcus delivers to Finchley Foodbank