About
About our foodbank
Why do we do what we do?
Our foodbank was founded by local churches and community groups, working together towards stopping hunger in our local area. We’re a local foodbank that’s part of the Trussell Trust national network of foodbanks.
We provide emergency food, support and advice to people and families who are experiencing severe financial hardship.
The number of people using our foodbank centres has increased five-fold since 2016, with a particularly sharp rise since the start of the pandemic.
In 2023 we provided food and support for more than 10,100 people.
We have centres open 5 times a week in Tadworth, Ewell, Banstead, Epsom and Leatherhead.
We opened our doors in October 2012 with support from Generation Church. In April 2022 we became part of a new charitable Trust, Good Company (Surrey).
Epsom & Ewell Foodbank generates approximately 200 hours of volunteering a week and we have an amazing band of people who help out in many different ways. We run from a Christian ethos but people from all walks of life are involved at all levels. It’s an amazing testament of the community working together, local people, churches, agencies, businesses and schools all doing their part.
To say that we are closing our doors due to the lack of need for our services would be fantastic, unfortunately we cannot see that happening soon, as more changes, caps to benefits and the cost of living crisis continue to hit local people hard.
What’s next and what’s the future plan?
Over the last ten years, we have seen an ever-increasing number of people turning to us for help because they cannot afford life’s essentials. The cost-of-living crisis means that it’s more important than ever that we commit to creating a poverty-free future.
We are committed to working with local councils, schools, landlords and businesses, alongside people with lived experience of poverty, making them central to decisions about how to tackle it.
We refuse to accept that poverty is just a sad reality. Leading our community towards a poverty-free future is about creating hope that change is possible and refusing to succumb to the belief that poverty will always exist.
To get in touch, please email [email protected] or call the office on 0208 786 8221.