Sainsbury's Bitterne

The Food Centre is a church led, community focused project that enables individuals and families to be supported during financial crisis. We provide dried, tinned and, when available, fresh food which is donated by individuals, schools, churches and local businesses. Our passion is to provide food with love and encouragement to those struggling within our communities. OPENING HOURS It is open every Monday (except Bank Holidays) at King’s Community Church (KCC) from 10am to 1pm. It also opens a Food Pantry every Thursday at KCC from 10am to 12.30pm. The Food Centre is supported by “Churches Together ” in the Southern Parishes area and has various food collection points which are based at KCC, Aldi, Lidl, M &S and the Co Op in Hedge End and has collection points in a number of different churches. REFERRAL We have about 60 different referral agencies that include local church leaders, Doctors/GPs, children services, vulnerable adult services, CAB at Hedge End or Eastleigh offices and primarily Eastleigh B/C who are in contact with the local community. Their role is to contact the food centre to inform us of personal details and needs. This is done by electronic referrals or by phone to the designated mobile number. FOOD DONATIONS The food centre requires regular food donations and these can be brought to KCC from Monday to Friday 09.00-16.30 or on a Sunday morning from 09.30-12.00. Please put the food on the shelving at our donation point near the main entrance. For a list of all food types required, please click here but please remember that it must be non-perishables and in date.

We set up our food banks 28 yrs ago and our Marketplaces 4 years ago. We have 5 food, 1 clothing bank and 4 Marketplaces. The Banks provide emergency support to those in need. Our Marketplaces is a community food membership scheme for local people. Our Banks operate an online system referral agents can use to refer clients. There is a network of over 2000 individual agents able to refer to us now. In 2023we gave out 4 days of food 21,765 times and clothed 2,153 people with x4 outfits. We do all this free of charge through working co-operatively with supermarkets, charities, business and churches across the city to make it happen. SCM Marketplaces have been designed to complement our existing emergency food and clothes project. For a weekly £5 membership subscription, Marketplace members can come on the day their Marketplace is open, use the members café, chat to members and volunteers, talk to any visiting advice agencies, and choose around 13 items from the fridges, freezers, fresh fruit and veg, bakery, ambient food products and toiletries.

Looprun is a response division and part of an independent social enterprise. This is more than food and is part of a supportive services platform to help people get sustained in their own individual way. With up to 94% success rate and seeing once those receiving free Looprun response bags to returning to stores as shoppers with baskets full. These are the impact stories created when all come together to do good for good. Service users are signposted to Looprun mostly from referrals including professionals in social and healthcare. Looprun provides free non perishables, perishable food, toiletries, and brand new clothing to people facing a temporary challenge. Whatever supermarkets, stores, and retailers can do is turned into a grateful donation to a neighbour in need. This is a response to real people in real-time. No food is banked providing a direct in and out service. We believe if the food is stored then a person in need is not getting any food, hence we provide an instant response and instant impact service. Looprun has access to professional volunteers who carry out a confidential support service to people in need. From homeless shelters, hostels, sheltered housing, care homes, soup kitchens and schools. This is a non voucher, free and confidential service. This means Looprun can reach more people in need with food donations. Anyone that receives a Looprun bag of essential food items is sustained thus creating a loop cycle. All are invited to become part of these sustainable stories in your local community. For further information and gallery access on the impact of Looprun please visit: Website: https://www.looprun-sciv.online/