Foodbank asks for urgent help during coronavirus outbreak

The founder of H&F Foodbank has launched an urgent appeal for help.

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CEO of the H&F Foodbank, Daphine Aikens

The founder of Hammersmith & Fulham Foodbank has launched an urgent appeal for donations and supplies as the coronavirus crisis piles pressure on the charity’s work.

The Foodbank – set up locally by Daphine Aikens a decade ago – is financially supported by Hammersmith & Fulham Council.

She says the foodbank has barely five weeks’ worth of stock as the coronavirus outbreak threatens to disrupt supplies to the most vulnerable in society.

“If donations drop because of the coronavirus or panic buying, we’ll see our stocks run out,” warns Daphine. “We have enough core products to make balanced food parcels for five weeks of normal use, but if the situation gets worse and schools close, people will need more food.”

She worries that if coronavirus spreads, some of her 60 volunteers could fall sick... making it difficult to sort the two tonnes of supplies typically donated every week. If schools are forced to close, families who currently qualify for free school meals could go hungry.

She urges donors to leave food at supermarket and library donation points, or donate online via Bankuet.

There is also an appeal to wholesale suppliers to find out if it’s possible for the foodbank to purchase non-perishable goods from them.

Local foodbanks

The foodbank opened in Fulham in 2010, with a second in West Kensington in 2012 and a third in White City in 2016. 

The centres are at:

  • The Hub, 75 Bloemfontein Road, White City (Mon, Wed, Sat)
  • St Simon’s church, Rockley Road, West Kensington (Thu)
  • St Matthew’s, Wandsworth Bridge Road, Fulham (Tue and Fri). 

When it was set up, only a handful of foodbanks existed. Today the UK has more than 2,000.
 
Every visitor is offered free homemade snacks and a cuppa, while food packs include toiletries, feminine hygiene and cleaning products, pet food and baby items when available.
 
Visit the Hammersmith & Fulham Foodbank website for details of most urgently needed food items.

Donate your items at any one of these locations:

  • Tesco, 180 Shepherds Bush Road, W6
  • Sainsbury’s, Townmead Road, SW6
  • Sainsbury’s, Fulham Broadway Shopping Centre, SW6
  • Sainsbury’s, Kings Mall, Hammersmith, W6
  • Waitrose, North End Road, SW6
  • Waitrose, Westfield, White City, W12
  • The Macbeth Centre, Macbeth Street, W6 
  • Willmotts estate agent, M&S, King Street, Hammersmith, W6
  • All libraries in Hammersmith & Fulham

For the latest information and advice on coronavirus (COVID-19) - including the current situation in the UK and information about the virus and its symptoms – please visit: www.lbhf.gov.uk/coronavirus.

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