About us
Camden Foodbank is a charity based in the borough of Camden that supports local people in the in food crisis. The borough has a significant number of homeless people and people who live in great deprivation. Every day people go hungry for different reasons ranging from family breakdown, job loss, mental health problems and a variety of other causes.
Food poverty has been made worse by the fall out from the pandemic followed by the energy/cost of living crisis, interest rate rises and high inflation, and demand is extremely high.
Almost 1.3 million emergency food parcels were given out in the 6 months up to September 2022, with almost 500,000 of these being handed out to children according to the The Trussell Trust. In the same period 320,00 more people in the UK have turned to a food bank for the first time. More than ever foodbanks are playing a key role in feeding people who would otherwise go hungry.
Camden Foodbank partners up with a wide range of local professionals such as doctors, social workers, health visitors and the police who issue people in need with a foodbank voucher. This voucher allows these people to come along to the foodbank to receive an emergency supply of food for themselves and their children.
Camden Foodbank is in continuous and urgent need of food donations. Food is donated by schools, churches, businesses and individuals. When the donated food comes into the foodbank, volunteers sort, date-check and pack the food into crates ready to be donated to people in food crisis.
When people come into Camden Foodbank with food vouchers, they are given a 3 day-emergency supply of a variety of foods as the aim is to give out nutritionally balanced packages.