Caridon carry on this Christmas – and look next to Easter!

Fri 06/12/19
A large donation of toys and food was collected today from Caridon Property based in High Street, Croydon, with the toys earmarked for our Toys for Joy scheme for needy children.

Caridon are regular supporters of the Food Hub and organiser Susan Passman (centre) and her team are already taking about their next collection…of Easter eggs! Pictured are our volunteers Eddie and David receiving today’s goods.

Woodcote High present huge food collection at their Christmas concert

Thu 05/12/19
Students and their families and the staff at Woodcote High School donated a staggering total of 1,375 food and other items which they presented to Helen Harris, our Management Committee chair, at the school’s Christmas concert tonight.

Noteworthy individual contributors were Emma from 10Z with 42 items, Rhea (7D) 24 items and Imaani (12Y) 17 items. In addition, the school is donating £880 raised from the concert itself. Thank you Woodcote High!

Sainsbury’s Local promoting the Food Hub

Mon 02/12/19
During December, the Food Hub is being promoted at Sainsbury’s Local in Purley High Street through the store’s ‘Help Brighten a Million Christmases’ scheme – they have a collection basket for food and toys.

Each item donated is counted towards Sainsbury’s overall collection target of 1 million items nationwide.

Meanwhile, we are again running Christmas Lunch on Jesus, delivering Christmas turkey hampers to 150 clients/families nominated by our Ticket Partners, and also Toys for Joy, aiming to give two gifts each to around 200 needy children. Keston Primary School is again collecting along with local businesses. Full details from purleyfoodhub@gmail.com.

Christmas biscuits and children’s chocolate treats requested in December

Sun 01/12/19
Christmas biscuits and chocolate treats for children are among the items included on our December food list for hard-pressed clients and their families.

Donations of cartons of long life whole milk and tins of chicken, ham and corned beef are also requested, along with tinned peas and carrots, tinned dessert fruit and rice pudding and small bags of sugar. This month’s non-food items especially needed are tin openers, unisex deodorant and adults’ toothbrushes.

Donations will be gratefully received at Purley United Reformed Church and Christ Church Purley, as well as at Get Fired! and Cafe Blue in Brighton Road Purley. Thank you everyone for your support.

Busiest ever November follows busiest October…

Sat 30/11/19
Our busiest October was followed in turn by our busiest November, with 3,042 meals provided over the past month for clients and their families, including a total of 1,044 meals on the last 2 Saturdays alone.

It took us past 6,000 meals during these last 2 months…and past 160,000 meals overall since the Food Hub opened almost 7 years ago.

Waitrose Coulsdon shoppers donate 11 trolleyloads of goods plus £225

Tue 19/11/19
Big thanks to the generous customers and staff of Waitrose Coulsdon where we collected the equivalent of 11 trolleyloads of goods and £225.79 on Saturday 16 November. Our final supermarket collection of 2019 is at Waitrose Sanderstead on Friday 6 December from 9am – 6pm.

November’s food list headed by long life whole milk, tinned meat & potatoes

Fri 01/11/19
Last month was our busiest October since we started in 2013 with 3,069 meals provided to struggling clients and their families – over 1,000 meals up on October 2018. It was also our 4th busiest month over the past nearly 7 years and the busiest month outside of December and January.

As we continue the build-up to Christmas, cartons of long life whole milk once again top the list, followed by tins of corned beef, chicken and ham, packets of dried / tinned potatoes and tinned carrots. Also listed are jars of fish paste, small bags of sugar, tins of rice pudding and children’s chocolate treats. There are also 3 non-food items listed: toilet rolls, unisex deodorant and bars of soap.

We remain so grateful for the local community’s continued support.

TWENTY EIGHT schools donate food this Harvest time

Wed 30/10/19
We are so grateful once again to our local churches, schools, businesses and organisations for their amazingly generous response to this year’s annual Harvest appeal for food donations.

Our storeroom at Purley United Reformed Church is overflowing now with the deliveries we have received and collected as we start the busy build-up to Christmas. So far 28 schools have donated food this Autumn term:

Wallington High for Girls, New Valley Primary, The John Fisher, Royal Russell Junior, Little Apples Day Nursery, Wilson’s, Gresham Primary, St Nicholas, Regina Coeli Catholic Primary, The Minster Junior, Keston Primary, Atwood Primary, Oasis Academy Byron, Purley Oaks Primary, Old Palace, Woldingham, Oasis Academy Coulsdon, St Giles, St David’s, Warlingham Park, Cumnor House for Girls, Margaret Roper Catholic Primary, Oakwood, Laleham Lea, The Hayes Primary, Foresters Primary, Kenley Primary and Beaumont Primary.

THANK YOU EVERYONE!

‘I enjoy every session, ensuring each client leaves with a smile…’

Mon 07/10/19
Volunteers, supporters and friends of Purley Food Hub attended the Annual General Meeting at Christ Church Purley on Thursday 3 October. Guest speakers included Lizzie Englefield from St Mary’s Catholic High School, Jo Doherty and Mimi Khorsand from the Happy Baby Community and Nicky Powell from Croydon Refugee Day Centre, as well as Food Hub volunteers Cynthia Smith and Betty Jones. Please click here to view our 2018/2019 Annual Report (pdf).

Facts from the Report’s ‘Our Year In Numbers’ feature include: 691 clients, referred by 69 agencies in the borough, visited the Food Hub a total of 1,474 times and received food and toiletries for 3,262 people; at 3 meals a day for 3 days for each person, that’s 29,358 meals provided.

Among the volunteers explaining In Our Own Words what keeps them coming back to help, Emily writes: “I have been part of the team for over 4 years and have enjoyed every session, welcoming each client and ensuring they leave with a smile and small reassurance that their short-term food supply has been covered. I really enjoy the teamwork and positive atmosphere. No matter what the circumstances, family size or time, there is always an enthusiastic team waiting to help.”

Vegetarian meals, bottles of squash and packets of dried potatoes top October’s list

Tue 01/10/19
The 1,899 meals provided in September to hard-pressed clients and their families took us past 20,000 meals in total so far this year and to almost 155,000 since we opened in January 2013.

Tinned vegetarian meals, small bottles of squash and packets of dried potatoes head October’s list, which also includes hot chocolate requiring only water, jars of meat and fish paste, toddler microwavable meals and packets of custard requiring only water. Three non-food items on the list are: disposable razors, non bio washing powder capsules/tablets and small washing up liquid.

Thank you everyone for your donations, however big or small – every item we receive goes to someone in need.

Thank you Waitrose Sanderstead!

Mon 23/09/19
Generous shoppers at Waitrose Sanderstead donated the equivalent of 14 trolleyloads of food and other items, plus £151.13 in cash, in our latest collection at the store on Friday 20th September. Thank you very much everyone, not forgetting the Waitrose staff and management (and our own Food Hub collectors and sorters!).

Our final two supermarket collections of the year are on Saturday 16th November at Waitrose Coulsdon and Friday 6th December at Waitrose Sanderstead, both 9am – 6pm.

Can you help please to build up our food stocks again in September…?

Sun 01/09/19
August’s record-equalling 2,304 meals provided to struggling clients and their families (the same number as a year ago) took the combined June-August total to a most-ever 7,029 – 200 more than last summer.

It means that as we start on the autumn road to Christmas, our food stocks have become somewhat depleted and we would greatly appreciate your help in building up the stock levels again during September…

Once again long life whole milk tops our list of priority items needed, followed by small bags of sugar, long life fruit juice, small bottles of squash, packets of dried potatoes, packet soup, jars of pasta sauce, packets of savoury biscuits and tins of rice pudding and dessert fruit. Two non-food items we especially need are unisex shower gel and small washing up liquid.

As always, on behalf of our clients, we warmly thank you for your wonderful support.

Long life whole milk again heads our Top 10 priority items needed in August

Thu 01/08/19
The past months’s 2,538 meals provided for hard-pressed clients and their families made it the Food Hub’s busiest July since we started in 2013…as well as taking us past the landmark figure of 150,000 meals overall.

As an indication of our steadily increasing busy-ness, we passed 50,000 meals in September 2015 (32 months). 100,000 in September 2017 (24 months) and now 150,000 in July 2019 (22 months).

Long life whole milk once more heads the top 10 priority items, along with 500g packets of breakfast cereals, small jars of honey, long life fruit juice / small bottles of squash, packets of dried potatoes, small packets of savoury rice, packet soup and tinned rice pudding. Two non-food items we especially need are small washing up liquid and unisex shampoo. As always, thank you for your support.

Food Hub passes 150,000 meals milestone

Sat 27/07/19
Today we passed our latest milestone by providing the 150,000th meal to the Food Hub’s clients and their families since we opened six and a half years ago in January 2013.

To date, 2,688 clients have attended a total of 7,408 times and we have provided food for 16,681 people going through hard times. At three meals a day for three days for each person, that’s a grand total of 150,129 meals so far.

Once again, we say a huge, heartfelt thank-you to our wonderful volunteers and supporters who make the Food Hub happen, including those who serve our clients each Saturday and Wednesday, sort and date-label food donations on Mondays, refill the shelves on Tuesdays and collect donations at supermarkets…plus the many, many churches, schools, organisations, businesses and families and individuals who give us food, toiletries and money. It is one tremendous all-round community effort and we warmly thank everyone involved.

Waitrose Coulsdon shoppers show their generosity once more

Tue 16/07/19
Fourteen large trolleyloads of food and other items plus £100.44 in cash were donated by generous shoppers in our collection at Waitrose Coulsdon on 13 July – thank you very much everyone, we are most grateful.

Our next collections to the end of the year are on Friday 20 September at Waitrose Sanderstead, Saturday 16 November at Waitrose Coulsdon and Friday 6 December at Waitrose Sanderstead, all 9am – 6pm.

Needed in July: tinned meat, whole milk, fruit juice, pulses…& TIN OPENERS

Mon 01/07/19
Another 2,187 meals were provided for Purley Food Hub clients and their families in June, taking 2019’s meals total so far to just short of 14,000. To date, since the Food Hub started in January 2013, 2,657 clients have visited 7,303 times between them and we have provided food for 16,426 people in crisis. At 3 meals a day for 3 days for each person, that’s close to 148,000 meals overall.

The July food list sets out this month’s top 10 priority items: tinned plain meat (corned beef, ham, chicken), hot chocolate drink requiring only water, long life whole milk, fruit juice/small bottles of squash, tinned pulses (kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas), sweet biscuits and packets of custard requiring only water. Non-food items needed please are unisex deodorant and shampoo…and TIN OPENERS. Thank you as always.

Waitrose Sanderstead once again display great generosity

Wed 19/06/19
The equivalent of eight large trolleyloads of food and other items plus £167 in cash were donated by customers of Waitrose Sanderstead in our collection at the store on Friday 14 June.

Our collectors enjoyed good conversations with the friendly shoppers who took the opportunity to find out more about the work of the Food Hub. The day ended with a gentleman rushing over as the team were clearing up to put a £20 note in the collection bottle.

Thank you everyone for your generous support once again. Our next supermarket collection is at Waitrose Coulsdon on Saturday 13th July, 9am – 6pm.