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Sharing is Caring is a food service that serves students nationwide with the intention to expand internationally. The program’s focus is to identify area needs for food requirement amongst students first and utilise resources to satisfy those needs in order to eliminate hunger in our student community. We operate within the Welfare Office at our partnering universities so as to limit abuse of the service. Students are encouraged to volunteer in every aspect of the food service as voluntary work experience is highly recognised and preferred by many employers in varying sectors. It is deep sadness that we have identified a large community of students who do not eat on an average day to day basis simply because they cannot afford to. It is our intention to operate a warehouse facility at every university and college in the United Kingdom where we will store donated or rescued food for distribution to students. The program actively solicits food from retailers, wholesalers, and processors. In addition, we plan to collect food donations from restaurants for immediate distribution to service programs. It is estimated that the number of students who need services from us will increase during the next five years as the cost of living increases. Though there are a number of food banks available countrywide, there is that element of embarrassment that a student has to overcome to approach them. It is with this in mind that we are providing a more specific service solely for students. It is within our plan to have a smart phone application that allows students to indicate their need and desire for food. Sharing is Caring is therefore an important resource because we can respond quickly with the one of the most important resources these students need. Food! Our services help to improve the wellbeing and welfare of students and assist greatly in achieving goals that have been set. We know that our service is a small investment with regards to the influence hunger has on our health, however, it must be implemented as the cost of ignoring the problem regarding student hunger could possibly be detrimental in the long run especially in the face of rising university costs without added incentives. We all know that “hungry” should never be a pronoun for “student”, however; today sub-standardisation of this matter is a reality for some.

We are one of the many foodbanks supporting people in crisis. We accept food and financial donations in order to provide the service. Our Distribution Centres are staffed by many volunteers. We have seven centres in the Northern Devon Foodbank; together covering a rural area of over 800 square miles. We service the whole of Torridge and North Devon Districts including the areas of Barnstaple, Bideford, Braunton, Hartland, Holsworthy, Ilfracombe, Lynton, South Molton, Torrington, and the surrounding villages. Quite a logistical feat! In 2020 we distributed over 125 tonnes of food supporting nearly 12,000 people (4,500 of those were children). That support extends to more than just food; we are dedicated to tackling the underlying causes of crisis not just applying a 'sticking plaster' to the problem. All of our services are aimed at moving people out of crisis and into a place of self-sufficiency. Our customers are normally referred to us by frontline agencies who commit to our principles of ending UK hunger by ensuring that people can care for themselves. Having over 400 referrers helps to ensure that people are getting the support they need in all walks of life. We are also proactive in educating people in food use and nutrition. Whilst we operate to a high common standard, each of our local centres is allowed to adapt for local needs. For example, in Ilfracombe we have a Community Cafe providing good nutritional meals every Tuesday Our ultimate aim is to see a society where foodbanks are no longer necessary and we will do everything in our power to achieve that.

We cover the whole of Teignbridge district within Devon, we provide food parcels/support for anyone who is in need, we work with many organisations within our district who provide referrals to our food bank, we also provide starter packs where people have been displaced from their homes. Each food parcel we provide is aimed at providing support for 5 days emergency relief. The food parcels offer a balanced diet and include things such as juice, milk, bread, sausages, fresh fruit and vegetables, cakes, tinned produce such as soup, beans, vegetables, rice, pasta, tea or coffee, sugar, cereal, and tinned meat meals. The size of each food parcel is made up based on the size of each family and is carefully put together by one of our 50 strong team of volunteers. Obviously, parcels may vary throughout the seasons depending on what donations are made by the partners that support us. We also supply toiletry packs, cleaning and laundry products subject to availability.