About
About Our Foodbank
Here is an introduction to our project.
Primary Focus
Our Mission
To serve with compassion, motivated by Christian principles, those in food poverty in Slough and the surrounding area by providing practical support of food, toiletries and fuel and tackling the root causes of poverty through signposting, projects and partnerships.
Emergency Food and Support
Slough Foodbank believes that no one in the community should have to face going hungry. That’s why we provide three days worth of nutritionally balanced, emergency food and support to local people who are referred to us in food poverty crisis.
Trussell
Our foodbank is part of Trussell’s network of over 1,600 foodbank locations, working to tackle food poverty and hunger across the UK. Trussell exists so everyone in the UK can be free from hunger. We work together to ensure no one needs a food bank to survive. Until that happens, we provide emergency food and practical support for people left without enough money to live on.
Financial inclusion project with Citizens Advice East Berkshire
Helping People Get The Advice They Need
Citizens Advice workers run confidential sessions at the Foodbank’s Distribution Centres. This partnership project looking at financial inclusion is a long-term approach, helping people get the advice they need so they can reduce their reliance on crisis support, including the use of foodbanks, as their financial situation improves.
Many people who find themselves in food poverty crisis and need to use a foodbank have underlying issues relating to benefits, debt, low income, discrimination at work, housing, homelessness or ill health. Having trained advisers from Citizens Advice East Berkshire (CAEB) dedicated to offering advice and information related to these areas is of enormous benefit ensuring that clients are getting all the support possible to help them out of food poverty.
Signposting & Support
A Helping Hand Through Crisis
In addition to providing food, we have a dedicated Signposting & Support Officer who spends time with clients understanding their situation, assessing their needs and signposting to other sources of help so that we can offer a helping hand through a crisis.
Campaigning
A future where foodbanks are no longer needed
The support we provide is crisis support. This is not long-term support nor a long-term solution, we need to see the government put a long-term solution in place. We would like to see a future where foodbanks are no longer needed and so we continue to help raise the profile of food poverty and lobby for those who are in need.
No one should be forced to turn to a charity because they can’t afford food. We are supporting the campaign for a #GuaranteeOurEssentials – further information is available on the Trussell website.
Slough Foodbank
- Slough Foodbank is an independent Charity (CIO) run by a Project Board of 6 trustees plus a manager supported by lots of churches and community groups, working together towards stopping hunger in our local area.
- Around 200 professional agencies assess and refer people to Slough Foodbank
- We have 5 Distribution Centres – open 6 times per week
- We have a warehouse and office at Montrose Avenue, rent free by courtesy of SEGRO
- We have about 130 volunteers, including 6 key supporting roles. It takes 85 volunteers to operate Slough Foodbank each week.
Slough Foodbank Facts
Slough Foodbank opened in 2010, and since opening there has been an increase in demand and need for emergency food parcels.
| 12,147 | Three-day emergency food supplies given to local people in crisis last year, up 7% since 2023 |
| 5,372 | Referrals fulfilled in 2023 which helped ….. |
| 4,472 | Children |
| 7,675 | Adults |