Coronavirus
Response Fund
Food and essentials
We have to date awarded £228,925 to support people with food and essentials from our Coronavirus Response Funding.
August 2020
Recent surveys suggest that millions of people in the UK are struggling to get the food they need and are falling into debt because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
More than 1.5 million adults in Britain say they cannot obtain enough food. Half of a recent YouGov poll sample of parents on low incomes with children eligible for free school meals said they had not received any substitute meals to keep their children fed.
June 2020
Key issue: People being able to access quality, healthy food & other essentials.
Across the country, there was an unprecedented rise in the number of claims for Universal Credit at the start of the crisis. On 1 April, the Department for Work and Pensions disclosed that around 950,000 new claims had been submitted in the preceding fortnight. This volume of claims is far higher than usual: fortnightly new claims averaged 110,380 in the year ending 9 January 2020, and never exceeded 130,000 during this period.[1]
The British Red Cross alongside the Voluntary and Communities Sector Emergencies Partnership reported that 1.5 million people in the UK have gone at least a day without food since lockdown began. 350,000 children have not had enough to eat and 238,000 have skipped meals because they have ran out of food.
During April 2020, the Trussell Trust has reported an 89% increase in need for food banks compared to the same period last year, with a staggering 107% increase in emergency food parcels for children and 95% increase in food parcels given to families with children. (UK food banks report busiest month ever, as coalition urgently calls for funding to get money into people’s pockets quickly during pandemic – The Trussell Trust) 48% of the increase in emergency food distributed from food banks is due to people reporting a fall in income from work or benefits. 11% is because of sickness. [2]
Food banks in the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN) report a 175% increase in need for the same period.
Local Surrey food banks have also seen a sharp rise in demand.
East Elmbridge Food Bank says demand is almost 3 times higher than this time last year, as well as donations being lower as previous donors face concerns about feeding their own families and stock levels on shelves.
Foodbanks in other areas such as North Guildford and Caterham have also reported similar increases in demand, while the Manna Food Bank in Spelthorne is anticipating needing to send out over 2 tonnes in essential items every week.
How our grants are helping:
Mid Surrey Community Fridges distribute food to low income, elderly, vulnerable people and keyworkers. The food comes from the main supermarkets and other donations. They have been overwhelmed with the generosity shown during the crisis and have seen a massive and unprecedented increase in available food. “We don’t have enough capacity as it stands to take on all the food we are now being offered – this is a good place for us to be – in some ways.” The charity has gone from delivering 1.25 tonnes to 3.25 tonnes of donations per week.
Below are the grants we have awarded locally to support people with food and essentials.
| Charity | Project Description | Amount Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Total | £228,925 | |
| Brightwells Gostrey Centre | Funding toward an organisation that offers a delivery meal service to the elderly and isolated in the Farnham area, during the COVID-19 pandemic | £5,000 |
| Brockham Emergency Response Team (BERT) | Funding towards the final steps of setting up a Food Aid and Shopping/Prescription Delivery Service in a rural area, with many older and vulnerable people, as a result of Covid-19 | £5,000 |
| Camberley Nepali (G) Society | Funding to support the older Nepalese Society in Camberley during the Coronavirus pandemic | £3,000 |
| Caterham Foodbank | Funding toward the increase in demand for a foodbank service that is based in Caterham, during the COVID-19 pandemic | £5,000 |
| Chatterbus | Funding toward PPE and and safety screen, for a community bus service, provided by an organisation based in Elmbridge, during the Covid-19 pandemic. | £1,000 |
| Cobham Area Foodbank | Funding toward the purchase of food stock for a food bank, based in Cobham, to be able to meet the increase in demand for their service, during the COVID-19 pandemic | £5,000 |
| Coronavirus Aid Chelsham, Farleigh and Warlingham | Funding for a voluntary group helping to support vulnerable people during the Coronavirus crisis | £5,000 |
| Emmaus Transformation Trust - Jigsaw | Funding toward the purchase of supplies for their clients, by a charity, based in Woking, that offers school items to children living in poverty, during the COVID-19 pandemic | £5,000 |
| Farnham Maltings Association Limited | Funding toward a helpline and meals-on-wheels delivery services available in Farnham, during the COVID-19 pandemic | £4,000 |
| Foodwise (TLC) Limited | Project costs to provide cooked meals to disadvantaged families, elderly and isolated people in Guildford during the Coronavirus pandemic | £5,000 |
| Foodwise (TLC) Limited | Support for a food service focused on Universal Credit response | £5,000 |
| Foodwise (TLC) Limited | Funding toward a charity, based in Guildford, that will produce and deliver meals to the vulnerable, during the COVID-19 pandemic. | £10,000 |
| Foodwise (TLC) Limited | Funding toward a charity, based in Guildford, that will produce and deliver meals to the vulnerable, during the COVID-19 pandemic. | £20,000 |
| Friends of the Elderly | Funding toward the purchase of equipment to enable a nationwide organisation, working in Woking, to help keep government recommendations whilst shopping for the isolated and elderly, during the Covid-19 pandemic | £2,234 |
| Generation Church | Funding towards a foodbank in Epsom and Ewell during the Coronavirus pandemic | £5,000 |
| Global Grooves Foundation | Funding for goods and groceries for 22 families in Woking during the Coronavirus pandemic | £4935 |
| Godalming Town Council | Funding toward the essential running costs of a Community Store based in Godalming during the COVID-19 Pandemic | £238 |
| Hale Community Centre - Community Cupboard | Funding toward establishment of a Community Cupboard to compliment foodbank provision in a community struggling due to the coronavirus pandemic | £5,697 |
| Home-Start Epsom, Ewell & Banstead | Funding for a charity supporting vulnerable families during the Coronavirus pandemic | £5,000 |
| KidsOut | Funding toward the purchase of food vouchers for women in refuge in Surrey during the Covid-19 pandemic | £925 |
| Manna Foodbank (St Mary's and St Peter's) | Funding toward the essential running costs of a food bank based in Spelthorne, during the Covid-19 pandemic | £4,000 |
| Manna Foodbank (St Mary's and St Peter's) | Funding for a foodbank helping disadvantaged people in Spelthorne during the Coronavirus outbreak | £5,000 |
| Merstham Community Cafe CIC | Funding toward subsidising meals for the vulnerable, by an organisation based in Merstham, during the COVID-19 pandemic | £5,000 |
| Mid Surrey Community Fridges | Running costs for a Community Fridge delivering food parcels to disadvantaged and/or isolating people amid the Coronavirus pandemic | £4,851 |
| New Life Church, Woking | Funding toward the purchasing for emergency supplies for a foodbank, based in Woking, during the COVID-19 pandemic | £5,000 |
| New Life Church, Woking | Funding toward the purchase of emergency supplies for a foodbank, based in Woking, serving people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic . | £5,000 |
| North Guildford Food Bank | Funding toward the purchase of food stock to enable a food bank, based in Guildford, to be able to meet the increase in demand for their service, during the COVID-19 pandemic | £5,000 |
| Peterson's Fund For Children | Funding toward food shopping of specific items for a charity, based in Elmbridge, that offers therapy for children with cystic fibrosis and respite for their families, during the Covid-19 pandemic | £5,000 |
| Reigate & Banstead Borough African and Caribbean Community Association | Funding to support African and Caribbean communities suffering disadvantage amid the Coronavirus pandemic | £3,060 |
| Renewed Hope Trust | Funding for the compiling and distribution of food parcels to vulnerable people during the Covid-19 crisis | £7,065 |
| Runnymede Foodbank - Community Life Trust | Funding for a food bank supporting disadvantaged people amid the Coronavirus pandemic | £5,000 |
| Sebastian's Action Trust | Funding to provide food/essential supplies, and activity bags to vulnerable families who have children with a life-limiting or life-threatening illness, in Surrey Heath and Guildford, during the Coronavirus pandemic | 5000 |
| Something To Look Forward To | Funding to provide essential items including bedding, toiletries and clothing for people affected by cancer who are experiencing financial hardship during and in the aftermath of the Coronavirus pandemic | 5000 |
| Southwark Diocesan Welcare | Funding toward the cost of food vouchers for an organisation working in South London and East Surrey offering support to vulnerable families with children up to the age of 13, during the Covid-19 pandemic | £2,000 |
| St Marks Community Centre | Funding for a foodbank to support disadvantaged people during the Coronavirus pandemic | £2,000 |
| St Martins Church Camberley | Funding to support disadvantaged people in Camberley facing hardship during the Covid-19 outbreak | £5,000 |
| St Mary's Church, Ash Vale | Funding toward the purchase of emergency food provisions, by an organisation, based in Ash Vale, that will deliver these provisions to the vulnerable in the community, during the COVID-19 pandemic | £5,000 |
| St Peter’s Church West Molesey - East Elmbridge Foodbank | Emergency relief response to Coronavirus. Purchasing food and other basic supplies and food vouchers to supply food to those with no money to buy food | £5,000 |
| Stanwell Events | Delivery costs to provide 200+ cooked meals per day to vulnerable people during the Covid-19 crisis | £5,000 |
| Stanwell Food Bank | Essential running costs for a foodbank serving Stanwell | £5,000 |
| Stanwell Food Bank | Funding toward the essential running costs of a foodbank, situated in Stanwell, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. | £16,000 |
| Stanwell Village Hall | Funding to enable a village hall to host a food bank cooking meals for vulnerable members of the community during the Coronavirus pandemic | 5000 |
| Taylor Made Dreams | Funding toward food and hygiene parcels for families who have a child suffering from a life-limiting illness, by a charity based in East Sussex, during the Covid-19 pandemic | £1,920 |
| The Counselling Partnership | Hardware and software costs to move to remote working for a charity supporting people with mental ill-health during the Coronavirus outbreak | £5,000 |
| The Vine Day Centre | Funding toward the purchasing of new telephones and a cook and delivery service for those that are vulnerable by a charity, based in Aldershot, during the COVID-19 pandemic | £5,000 |
Source
[1] Commons Briefing Paper: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8894/ (8 April 2020)
[2] The Trussell Trust: https://www.trusselltrust.org/2020/06/03/food-banks-busiest-month/ (April 2020)
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