Clients to collect food parcels from Purley URC as we reorganise our way of working.
Changes to Purley Food Hub’s way of working are to be introduced from early in March.
From Wednesday 4th March, clients will come to collect their food from our base at Purley United Reformed Church on Wednesday mornings, and we will no longer deliver food parcels direct to clients’ homes.
The changes coincide with a reorganisation of the facilities at the church where our volunteers sort and store donated items and prepare clients’ food parcels.
While we implement this reorganisation we are asking supporters not to bring donations to Purley URC between 23rd February and 2nd March while we transfer our shelving area in the main church sanctuary to the storeroom at the back of the building.
After then we will continue to be open to receive food donations on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday mornings between 9.00 and 11.30am. On Mondays please come to the open white doors 50 yards past the church’s main foyer entrance, and on Wednesdays and Saturdays please drive right around the church building to the far (Purley Hospital) side to the brown doors there.
The new arrangements mark a return to our way of operating since we opened in 2013 until the onset of Covid in 2020. Our last deliveries to clients’ homes will be on 21st February 2026. Clients who would have been due to receive deliveries on Wednesday 25th and Saturday 28th February will receive extra supplies on the 18th and 21st.
Then, starting in March, each client will be notified of a half-hour slot between 8.30am-12.30pm on Wednesday morning to collect their food. The maximum number of food collections per client will also be reduced from four to three.
This is in line with other local food banks and our partner Food Stops at Old Lodge Lane Baptist Church and St Francis Church, Selsdon, which also open one day a week.
After our emergency food parcels, we will continue to encourage clients needing further support to go to their nearest Food Stop, which we will go on supplying with food and money donations.
A pool of drivers will continue to be maintained to deliver food to clients who are housebound and cannot get to the Food Hub, and also to collect donations from schools, businesses and community organisations, for example at Easter, Harvest and Christmas.
We will trial and review the changes after three months in June to see what works well and what can perhaps be refined and improved. We will also work towards welcoming clients on Wednesday morning with tea and coffee, and offer them the opportunity to speak to one of our client support volunteers and for someone to pray with.
If we find that the demand for food exceeds what we can offer on a Wednesday, then we will investigate options for operating again on a Saturday.
The Food Hub has been based at Purley URC, a listed building, since we opened 13 years ago. Our move from the sanctuary into the rooms at the back of the building will better meet the joint needs of both the church and the Food Hub.
We thank everyone for your understanding and support while we implement these changes. Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any suggestions for how we might improve our service, or any concerns you might have.