simple but effective

In 2004 the Trussell Trust, a Christian charity based in Salisbury developed the Food Bank concept. The Food Bank collects and stores food donated by individuals, churches and organisations and then freely gives it to individuals or families who face a crisis in their lives and cannot afford to feed themselves.

Each food bank works in partnership with statutory and voluntary agencies in their locality. These partners are in the best position to assess the needs of their respective clients. Once the need is identified the agencies will issue a voucher which the client brings to the food bank centre and exchanges it for three days worth of food (10 meals).

Since the project started in West Brom on December 17th 07, it has been able to support nearly 300 adults and over 90 children who for one reason or another did not know where their next meal was coming from.

Reasons why they were in crisis varied, but included benefits cuts, benefit delays, low income and in several cases women and children who were the victims of domestic violence. We have also begun to see the true extent of homelessness in our town.

Originally, the project was to cover West Bromwich, but as our partners worked across Sandwell we expanded to cover the six towns that make up Sandwell. Referrals have also come from Birmingham and Dudley.

Although the project is run from West Bromwich Community Church, we work in partnership with churches in the area and our volunteers are drawn from these churches.

For further information, try http://www.trusselltrust.org/ http://www.westbromchurch.org/ or http://www.westbromfoodbank.btik.com/

Ooops, I see its been 10 days since I last posted on the blogsite. it has been a busy time, as I have been to Harrowgate to help out at an exhibition. (7 hours on my feet trying to publicise the work of the Food Bank Network, followed by over five hours travelling back to good old West Brom. If you ever go to Harrowgate and want a good bed and breakfast, try the Azalea Court hotel on Kings Road. I paid £30 for the night. I even got a free upgrade to a bigger room. The only 2 problems I encountered were, there was no remote for the t.v. and I had to get up of the bed to switch the light out! On the plus side, there was a hair dryer and iron in the room.

Then, as I was waiting on the rail station, the mobile went off and it was our local paper wanting to do an interview re the Food Bank (fame at last).

My church, West Bromwich Community Church www.westbromchurch.org were hosting a community fun event on Saturday 27th at the Oak House. You will never believe the amount of paperwork I had to complete. There was a 12 page risk assessment, a booking form for the parks department, checking out the insurance policy to see it covered for at least £5,ooo,ooo and being polite to various council officials and then booking a security guard for the event.

I have to say it was worth it. Around 200+ people attended and enjoyed free bouncy castles, sumo suits, slides, games and a free barbecue. The weather was brilliant and there was a great atmosphere. Staff at the Oak House were pleased to, as they had 150+ visitors looking round the house.

The object of the event was to introduce our church to the local community and also to tell them the good news of the gospel, i.e. Jesus really can make a difference! Six people responded to the challenge of following Jesus. A great finish to the day.

Hopefully, my next post will feature the work of the West Bromwich Food Bank, so keep on watching this blog!

Going (in the) Public

Yesterday, Denise and I went to a community forum meeting. This is a forum for voluntary groups in West Bromwich to meet together, share info and find out what is happening in West Brom. The added bonus last night (besides the free tea and biscuits) was that the meeting was being held in the Public.

For those not of West Brom, the Public is a new building dedicated to the arts with lots of ineractive stuff to keep the kids happy on a day out. Basically it is a rectangle with pink windows and 21st century fittings and exhibits. Depending on your point of view, it is either a pink shoe box or an iconic building at the heart of the regeneration of West Brom town centre. It was late opening, over budget and has appeared on News at Ten! It has also led to the Labour and Tory groups on the council threatening to report each other to various scrutiny or standards boards.

Anyway, back to the meeting. First, we had a tour of the building. I have to say I was really impressed and will be going back once everything is up and running. As a resident of West Brom, I am hoping for a discount on the admission price! (Well, £6.95 seems a bit steep and with a cup of tea costing £1.20 it all adds up). The guy leading the tour was brilliant and was really polite to everyone, including the ones asking stupid questions! I know there is always one in any group, except that on this occasion we had more than our fair share of them!

First impressions are that the Public is worth a visit (especially if we get a discount!) If you visit the Public website, be aware the email contact is not working!, so call in for info or 'phone them.

For those readers wanting to know about the meeting, it was over quickly, but I did learn something from SCVO and that is, my group West Bromwich Food Bank cannot apply for some new funding because we have not been in existence for twelve months or more.

This is a new venture for me and means I have to remember to keep the blog updated regularly! How long it will last is anybody's guess, still I owe it to my public to at least try!

The photo on my profile is situated at the entrance to the West Brom Shopping Centre and commemorates the visits of Wesley as he fulfilled his mission to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the town. I belong to the West Bromwich Community Church (Elim Pentecostal) which is a minutes walk from the town centre and, like Wesley, we want West Brom to know that there is good news that will transform the way they live.

Having said that, my church does not believe in just telling people where they are going wrong. We aim to show our concern in practical ways. At times it is a steep learning curve for all of us, but it is our mission to bring hope and love to the community.

A project we are involved in is called The West Bromwich Food Bank. More of this at a later date. We have four words that are at the heart of the Food Bank, 'Restoring dignity - Giving hope. This is our desire for West Bromwich.