Poverty Lead Tom Sefton writes about the next phase of the East Surrey Poverty Truth Commission……Whenever I go to one of our Foodbank centres, I am struck by how resilient people are in the face of adversity. As one of our clients said to me recently, “I think I’ve been through more in the past …
Continue reading “East Surrey Poverty Truth Commission – watch this space!”
Foodbank Volunteer Coordinator, Jackie, writes: Each year in June there is a week dedicated to the celebration of volunteers all over the country. It is a way to publicly thank the millions of people who volunteer hours of their time to various charities and projects throughout the UK. The theme for 2023 is – Volunteering …
Since November, Good Company has been trying out a different approach to helping people through the cost-of-living crisis. Instead of giving out one-off energy vouchers, we have partnered with Citizens Advice Epsom & Ewell and our local MP, Chris Grayling, to offer clients a longer-term solution to fuel poverty. It all started with hearing stories …
Christmas is always a very busy time of year for us at Epsom & Ewell Foodbank, as families struggle to manage the additional costs of the festive period, as well as higher than average energy bills. Normally, we see a significant dip in food bank use in the early part of the new year, but …
Continue reading “It feels like Christmas again at the Foodbank”
In March we visited café All Things Nice on their 9th Birthday to chat to owners Nicci and Sara about how they made their café dream a reality, the challenges of running a small business in a cost-of-living crisis and why supporting local charities is so important to them. “Running a café isn’t glamorous you …
A recent survey of our clients revealed that 60% of people who came to our Foodbank had borrowed money to pay for essentials such as food, toiletries and clothing. This is a particularly worrying statistic because it means that people living on a low income are being forced into debt just to get by. As …
Over the past few winters we have provided energy top-ups to people struggling with energy costs, but we have realised that with rising costs and many with debt on their bills, this was making little impact. We want to take a longer-term approach to address fuel poverty and so in partnership with Citizens Advice Epsom …
Continue reading “Energy Saving Scheme is proving a success”
If you’re passionate about helping people in the local community and you want to help change people’s lives for the better, then we have a fantastic opportunity to join our current Board of Trustees. We are seeking up to three additional Trustees to join the board who will bring in their experience and expertise to …
As a foodbank, we are seeing first-hand the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on families in Surrey, many of whom cannot afford to pay their bills and eat properly, even before the next hike in the energy cap is announced in a few weeks.
Epsom & Ewell Refugee Network has been supporting refugees and asylum seekers since 2015. Now, with the arrival of Ukrainian families, we have had to step up our activities
Our mission is to see a community free from poverty, where everyone can afford life’s essentials.
