Hope for Food is a charity operated entirely by volunteers and managed by a board of volunteer Trustees. Hope for Food operates from a commercial unit (the Unit) in Elliot Road, Turbury Park next to Screwfix.
Donations of food, clothing, bedding, sleeping bags, back packs, shoes, toiletries, baby clothes, and sanitary items are received sorted and stored at the Unit ready for delivery to those in need.
The Charity operates the following services;
- Community meals held on Thursday and Sunday evenings in Bournemouth town centre.
- A drop-in centre at the Unit on Saturday mornings for Clients to obtain food parcels who have been referred by doctors, health workers, clergy.
- Food parcels delivered weekly to schools for referred families.
- Home starter items for women and children fleeing abusive relationships, or for persons obtaining a new room or flat.
- Smart clothes for a person to attend a job interview.
- Daily collection of food donations from retailers and supermarkets.
Community meals use an outdoor location each Thursday at St Stephens Church grounds and an indoor location each Sunday where seating is available in St Andrews United Reformed Church, both locations are in St Stephen’s Road Bournemouth. Every Client can take all of the following food prepared by rostered volunteers in their own homes and packed in take-away style cardboard and foil lid containers to help them through the rest of the day and the next morning;
- A choice of two hot meals.
- A choice two sandwiches.
- Cakes.
- Hot soups and a wad of bread or a bread roll.
They can also take:
- Bottled spring water.
- Bananas, satsumas/clementines, apples, and sometimes other fresh fruit.
- Chocolate bar, crisps, and sometimes pot-noodles.
- Sometimes there are also random items of packaged food similar to meal deals.
The choices of hot meal, sandwiches and soup vary each day, and the volunteers coordinate to provide a choice of menu. There are between 40 and 60 Clients attending each day, so each volunteer is asked to prepare 30 portions to spread the workload. The fruit, chocolate and snacks are donated by retailers in the Bournemouth/Poole area, and they never fail to amaze me with their generosity.
The charity also prepares more than 160 food parcels each week at the Unit, delivered by the charity to many schools in the BCP area every Thursday, where the children’s parents collect the parcels at their relative school. During the school term breaks a church in Charminster has opened its doors for the parcels to be collected from there so the families do not suffer during school breaks.
Jane and I volunteer at both community meal sites and at the Unit. At the Unit we sort the donations and load the vans ready for the next day. Jane also makes sandwiches and cakes when rostered or to fill a last-minute shortfall.
At the community meals the van also carries replacement clothing, toiletries, toothbrushes, razors, sanitary items, bedding, sleeping bags, tents, shoes, books and DVDs for the Clients. They are permitted to take what they need, there is no rationing other than a common-sense approach. The Clients are also aware of the needs of the others and do not abuse what is available.
It is humbling to see the circumstance of the Clients knowing that “for the grace of God, go I”. Jane and I have got to know the regulars quite well and are on first name terms with some. There is no discrimination or judgement, and all have different circumstances that have led them to their current needs. Some are homeless, some live in hostels, some just have not enough income to survive.
The charity is desperate for donations as the needs are outweighing the donated resources due to recent demands. We understand that there are other great Charities and organisations that are being supported, however the Charity organiser says just one can or packet of food would help when possible, and any used clothing.
Regards.
Jane and Roy McKenzie