The Co-operative Food - Sidcup, The Oval

Every day, people go hungry in the UK for all kinds of reasons, from changes and delays in the benefits system to redundancy to receiving an unexpectedly large bill for a major repair. A simple box of food makes a big difference, with foodbanks helping prevent crime, housing loss, family breakdown and mental health problems. Bexley Foodbank relies on the support of local people, businesses and communities to help alleviate poverty and hunger in our community. Food donations Non-perishable in-date food is donated by the public at places across the local community, such as schools,churches and businesses, as well as supermarket collection points. It is then sorted and packed into boxes by volunteers, ready to be given to people in need. Food vouchers Care professionals such as doctors, health visitors, schools and social workers identify people in crisis and issue them with a foodbank voucher. They can exchange this voucher for a foodbank parcel of three days’ nutritionally balanced, non-perishable food. The help we give… Our foodbanks offers a lot more than food. Our volunteers offer a listening ear to clients over a warm drink, and signpost people to other charities and agencies who can help resolve the underlying cause of the crisis. There are many ways to help The Trussell Trust as a volunteer from helping at collection points, to stock-taking and audits, to helping us refurbish our premises. We can continue supporting people in crisis thanks to passionate people giving their time to help their hungry neighbours. Please get involved by following our project page and share this project with your friends and followers using the social icons on this page. Click the volunteering tab above to see our upcoming volunteer events and sign up to help us tackle food poverty together.

At Bexley Snap we offer disabled children and young people aged between 1 and 25 years an exciting and varied programme of clubs to provide parents and carers support, guidance, and regular breaks from their caring responsibilities. We are passionate for our members to develop their communication, development, social interactions and independent living skills. Activities are based on members needs and requests, tailored to individuals with targets set based on observations and family feedback. We pride ourselves on getting to know our members, their likes and dislikes to plan and adapt activities to suit all needs, maximising interaction and engagement. We actively seek user engagement to shape and improve our services. Since 1994, we have supported supported over 1000 disabled children and young people. Our centre is equipped with a specialist sensory suite, toys and outdoor play suitable for all ages. We strive to provide disabled children and young people a safe space, for them to be themselves, learn and develop while having fun! In early 2026, Bexley Snap is opening a nursery provision to support young children (aged 2 - 5) with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

NEWway Project is a grassroots local organisation operating in London Borough of Newham, supporting single adults with no dependants who are either sleeping rough or are insecurely housed. We run services since 2013 that include day services, faith and accommodation services, and education, training and employment (ETE) support. Our day centre is a commissioned service that offers showers, food and laundry facilities alongside extensive advocacy and casework for our guests. Each guest is assessed and supported by a caseworker with a care plan designed to plug any gaps in moving them on. We provide holistic approach and work in trauma-informed ways. Each case in treated individually and each person's dignity and wellbeing is at the heart of what we do. The day service is home for a wide partnership working, where outreach workers from various expert agencies deliver their support from our venue. These include health providers, immigration advisers, finance and benefit support, substance misuse and addiction support. It is also a space to run pilot projects, for example Women's Wednesdays or Back-to-Work programme. We also participate in numerous research projects, such as Young Refugee Research Project run by Neighbourly Lab and Public Health, Quit Smoking run by Public Health, Personal Grants run by the Centre of Homelessness Impact, and Co-Production forums led by the Newham Integrated Rough Sleeping Service. As part of faith and accommodation services, we provide winter night shelter and explore accommodation options for our guests that they can afford and that are sustainable should the guest be ready to move from benefit system to paid employment. We are looking at community building and housing that is centred within the local network of support that will aid tenancy sustainment. This links closely to the ETE offer. People are craving to have purpose in their lives and a place to belong. Through additional funding, we aim at creating opportunities where our guests can rebuild their self-esteem, enjoy community, upskill, think about their future and create friendships outside our services. For that purpose, we use a local green space that we have transformed into a Work Hub. People can enjoy gardening, carpentry, food growing, animal care, and cooking. In near future, we would like to use that space to empower guests to set up their own social enterprises. NEWway is well-embedded in Newham VSCE sector and well-known to the statutory services for its person-centred work and deep expertise in homelessness sector. We participate in local and national forums, amplifying voices of our guests at the decision-making tables and encouraging co-production.