Horsham District Foodbank reaches 10-year milestone

Horsham District Foodbank, which is run by Horsham Matters, the charity that supports those suffering from food and household poverty, has reached its 10-year anniversary. When it began in 2014, the foodbank provided 119 individual food parcels a month - currently it is providing 800 individual food parcels a month.

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The charity will be running initiatives and fundraising events to mark the milestone and to raise awareness of the steady increase in food poverty in the Horsham District.

Emma Elnaugh, Managing Director, said “We are proud of the work we have done, and which will continue to do, in our community. The challenges have been significant, but we have been able to be resilient during some very difficult times, like Covid and now the cost-of-living crisis.”

“We will continue to support those most vulnerable in our community until we achieve our goal of no longer needing a foodbank in our community.”

Last calendar year the foodbank provided 10,220 individual food parcels; over 4,000 of these were for children.

In addition to its food bank services, which include the Hub on the Move mobile food bank, the charity offers a range of holistic services aimed at addressing the root cause of poverty, including household budgeting support, benefit checks, advocacy support and counselling for those experiencing food poverty.

The charity says it is grateful to the staff, volunteers and supporters who have helped them along the way, and to the residents who have come to them for support.

It is asking residents to mark the anniversary by donating £10 for the 10 years, to help it continue to meet the increased demand for support. Donations can be made on the charity’s JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/10-years-of-horsham-district-foodbank.