Good afternoon,

I hope you have had a good week, 

A huge thanks to Helen, Iain, Sandra, Karen and Linda who once again helped at our Sainsburys Store collection last weekend, as always it was so well needed to replenish our stocks. Special Thanks also goes to Sandra who also attended a promotion event with some content creators at ASDA beforehand that helped with a £400 donation of food. We are so grateful for her continued support.

As you may have seen in the news over the past week, inflation is now up to 3.5%, driving the cost of living. As part of their research Trussell has undertaken a flagship multi-year research project on hunger, which tracks the nature, scale and drivers of charitable food provision and food insecurity across the UK

The research finds that there has been no progress in the number of people at risk of hunger and hardship since 2024. There are also concerning signs that the hardship many people face continues to deepen.
9 million people are facing severe hardship – an increase of over 500,000 people since 2024.1 in 5 households experienced food insecurity and 1 in 10 households turned to charitable food providers in 2026, 165,000 more people will face severe hardship.

For us at Thurrock Foodbank the work goes on and we are so thankful to our teams who are collecting and sorting the donations at this busy time. Behind the statistics are real people with real stories. At Thurrock Foodbank we try and ensure that everyone that comes through our doors feels welcomed and receives the help and support they need for their situation.

Since the 1st January we have served over 5800 people! 80% of the people referred to Thurrock Foodbank are referred to us from Thurrock Council related organisations.

We already work closely with churches and Faith groups across Thurrock to encourage donations and deepen support for our food bank through generosity and giving weeks.

A date for the diary as part of a new Trussell Church Prayer & Giving Week, starting Sunday 25 April 2027. Trussell is preparing the resources that can also be used at any time of year if April doesn’t work for your organisation

Demand for our services continues to be slightly above last year, and our donations are dramatically down by about 20%. Harvest donations are down and we are still short of some of our most basic items:
These items include:
Mashed Potato
Tinned Potatoes

Pasta Sauces

Fruit Juice/ Squash
Tinned Custard/ Rice Puddings, Jelly, Sponge Puddings
Tinned Meat (Spaghetti Bolognese, Curry, Stews, Hot Dogs etc)
Long Life Milk

We really value your support with any form of donation whether it be a financial or a food donation, however large or small. As the saying goes. "Every Little Helps" It all goes towards our work in seeking to bless the community of Thurrock

If you require any further information or would to discuss any aspect of our work in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me,

Wishing you a good week ahead