Braintree Area Foodbank Limited

Our mission is the prevention and relief of poverty throughout the Braintree District. This is done through the provision of emergency food parcels and holistic wrap-around support, working alongside other local charities and statutory agencies to end hunger together.

Since opening in 2012 we have seen an unfortunate rise in demand and reliance on the foodbank. In the financial year 23/24 we fed 12,500 people, which is over double a few years prior. This surge is largely due to cost of living crisis that is hitting everyone. There can be many complex, and often overlapping issues, which cause someone to need our services. Our goal is to provide as much holistic wrap-around support to clients as possible, in an attempt to tackle some, or all, of these issues. We even have our own in house CAB advisor now, who can support clients with all manner of issues.

Inevitably, this push towards offering extra support services increases our costs. Currently it takes around £300,000 to run the Foodbank for a year, this covers everything from sundry costs, to rent, utilities, wages, insurance and even the cost of buying stock. As the cost of living crisis has hit everyone, we've seen a reduction in the amount of donations coming in, and so we've needed to buy stock to make up the shortfall. In 24/25 the cost of buying stock sat just over £90,000.

We appreciate anything that someone may be able to give to support the work that we do, whether that be their time, money, food donation or simply spreading the word. We couldn't do what we do without the support of people like you, and for that we can't thank you enough!