The days are getting colder, and the mince pies are starting to appear on the Supermarket shelves.

For many of us, the lead-up to winter and Christmas is an exciting time. But there are also many people out there dreading the colder days.

As with the colder days come higher energy bills.

And higher energy bills puts a squeeze on already-squeezed budgets for even basic needs; food, shelter, hygiene.

The UK's FoodBanks

Across the UK, the need for FoodBanks continues to rise, with nearly 3 million people requiring access to a FoodBank in 2022/23.

These stats are a stark reminder that for many out there, the colder months are far from welcome.

And so, with the weather turning, the EcoSend team are shifting their monthly CSR activity from outdoor conservation work to helping out at local food banks.

We've thoroughly enjoyed previously helping out at the Kensington & Chelsea foodbank, as well as the Whitechapel Mission. This month, we were delighted to be invited to volunteer at the Bethnal Green FoodBank - offering emergency food aid for East London.

The organisation was founded back in 2014, originally by a group of locals from Bow Church, Our Lady & St. Catherine of Siena Church in Bow and from the local Synagogue and Gurdwara.

And so on an Autumnal afternoon, members of EcoSend's London-based team arrived at the site to get stuck in!

The Shift Begins

With a queue already forming down the road, it was clear there was work to be done!

We were greeted by Andy & Jamie, who gave us orientation and our snazzy, luminous volunteer jackets.

With the queue continuing to build, there was no time for chit-chat! But luckily, the team here run a very organised operation, so getting stuck in from the get-go was made a lot easier.

Every step of the process here is organised to a military-grade level.

A frontline team greets prospective clients, and sends through their referrals to a secondary team within the building.

The secondary team then document the needs for the individual / family in question, and fill out a form which is passed on the tertiary team.

That's where we came in!

As the tertiary team, it was our job to take the form, and find each pre-packaged bundle of food to make up the client's package.

Each Form circled the client's needs and preferences; whether they wanted Meat, Fish, Veg, or 'Non-Cook' - if they lack access to cooking facilities.

After that, they had options for children's items such as nappies, and also general hygiene products.

Once those bundles were collected, we headed to the final stock section to add fresh fruit, vegetables, rice or pasta, and a special treat!

The final phase was to head outside and call out the client's name, confirm their FoodBank number, and hand over the parcel.

Imagine an episode of Supermarket Sweep, and you kind of get the idea!

Finding our Pace

It sounds like a lot to be thrown straight into, but with both the smoothness of the operation and the willing assistance of the other volunteers, it felt like a breeze!

In no time, we were settled into the rhythm and rushing bundles out the door.

Our competitiveness quickly came to the surface, and soon enough we were joshing each other out of the way to see who could get the parcels out fastest (yours truly was definitely fastest 😇).

In quieter moments, we got chatting with the other volunteers, who came from an array of cultural, social, and work backgrounds. But all united by a common goal to give, and do some good.

Some of the volunteers were also on a corporate team day, while others were individuals willingly giving their time on a Wednesday afternoon. Students, lawyers, film-makers. Even a lovely chap called Brian who works on a Market stall in Walthamstow.

Some volunteers were first-timers like us, some were veterans. But everyone was delightfully welcoming and made the experience that extra feel-good. We even got free cake, shared by Jamie for this birthday. Thanks Jamie!

The hours flew by, and soon enough it was time for us to finish our shift (and nothing to do with James wanting to get to the nearest Apple Store in time before closing 😂).

Rounding-off the day

We each finished off our last bundle run, then (begrudgingly) handed back our sexy fluorescent jackets, before bidding goodbye to the rest of the volunteers and heading off.

It was a delightful experience; we felt so warmly welcomed by each volunteer and each service-user.

It is an interesting feeling to each time I head home from a CSR event like this.

On the one hand, there is a stark reality that many people in this country are in crisis. Things are not how they should be. Many people are really suffering, and significant change needs to happen.

And yet, seeing the number of volunteers willingly show-up to help out, and seeing both the scale and organisation of a grassroots movement like Bethnal Green FoodBank, it does leave me with a sense of hope for the future.

A few Foodbank facts to round things off.

On Wednesday 26th October the Bethnal Green FoodBank delivered:

• 303 adult food parcels and 134 kids parcels

• 437 bags distributed.

• 41 new registered guests.

• Total individuals associated with guest households:

  • 1,180 people

• Total children associated with guest households:

  • 274 children

• 2.4 metric tonnes of food, pantry and hygiene items distributed

The stats speak for themselves to demonstrate how important these FoodBanks are to our communities.

Thanks for reading!