Lidl Polegate

Our foodbank is a project which was originally set up by the churches in Hailsham, working towards stopping hunger in our local area. We are a Christian charity with over 50 volunteers from local churches and across the local community. Every day people in the UK go hungry for reasons ranging from redundancy to receiving an unexpected bill on a low income. A simple box of food makes a big difference, with foodbanks helping prevent crime, housing loss, family breakdown and mental health problems. We give emergency food parcels to those people in our community referred by agencies such as Citizens Advice. Each parcel gives 3 days food for the household.

'Food4Thought" are a team of people who are dedicated to help homeless and vulnerable people. We help and support those less fortunate in life. Our goal is realistic, to help one person at a time to get back on their feet. The Matthew 25 Mission has a day centre that vulnerable people can access 7 days per week. Vulnerable people get referred to the Mission mostly by other statutory authorities, word of mouth and partner groups. We provide a listening ear and sympathetic pastoral care with information and advice as well as provision of food, clothing and basic necessities. Food4Thought was founded in 2015 as a self-funded community group by myself, Marisa Forte-Ellis. Our Mission is inspired by our personal values to assist in meeting the needs of Eastbourne's homeless/vulnerable/disadvantaged community without discrimination. We welcome our guests with warmth, care and the respect they deserve regardless of age, gender or race. In 2015 I identified a gap on Friday evenings in Eastbourne Town centre. My aim was to provide our vulnerable street community with hot/cold beverages and healthy nutritious meals. This continued on a weekly basis until lockdown in March 2020 when, with the valued support of Matthew 25 Mission and Absolute Angels group volunteers, Food4Thought Friday evening services were re-located to outside the Matthew 25 Mission premises to facilitate safe social distancing measures for both volunteers and guests. This continues to date with the ongoing support of Matthew 25 Mission, donations from family and friends and food surplus donations from Marks & Spencer and Lidl, Eastbourne.

We are a Community Interest Company (not for profit) bringing fully inclusive sports and activities to the community. In our hub, we have a community fridge which provides the community with food that would've gone to waste for a small donation. We take surplus food and check it for quality. We then put it into the community fridge, where people are free to come down and take up to 10 items for a suggested donation of £2, however, if they don't have any money they are still welcome to take the food. We have had over 100 local people benefit from our service so far, but as supplies are low we haven't been able to help many people in our local community. Having this surplus come to us would greatly benefit the community and provide people with the food that they need.