About North Cotswold Foodbank

Summary

The Trussell story starts with a couple of Christians from Salisbury, Paddy and Carol Henderson, who met whilst serving in the British Army. Together they worked for a UN humanitarian feeding programme helping to improve conditions for Romany children sleeping at the Central Railway Station in Bulgaria. In 1997 they founded The Trussell Trust with a legacy from Carol’s mother, Betty Trussell, to help forgotten people in Bulgaria.

Three years later, Paddy received a call from a mother in Salisbury who was struggling to afford food. That led to the start of the Salisbury Foodbank which began life in Paddy’s garden shed and provided local people in crisis with three days’ emergency food collected from shoppers outside the local supermarket. Paddy’s foodbank model then spread rapidly through church networks.

Trussell now has more than 1,400 food bank locations across the UK. The trust also provides invaluable consultancy, training, systems, services, networking and quality assurance to the individual food banks.

The story of North Cotswold Foodbank starts on Christmas Day 2010 when the secretary to Guiting Chapel, Sylvia Wood, died and her executors approached the minister of Naunton Baptist Church, the Rev Fiona Milton, and her husband James to clear her larder. Boxes of food were taken to members of the local community, revealing a previously unrecognised need.

In February 2011 Channel 4 News produced a report on Trussell and the Salisbury Foodbank and for Fiona and James Milton, the seeds were sown. By March they were talking to Trussell and discussions with potential church partners followed. July saw grant applications, recruitment of referral agencies and setting up of computer systems. Almost 1.5 tonnes of food was donated by local schools, churches and individuals. The food bank also received generous financial start-up support from individuals, charitable trusts and several parish councils and churches.

The first outlets in Bourton, Moreton and Winchcombe opened in December 2011. That first Christmas, food parcels were handed out to 16 adults and 22 children. Just over a year later, NCFB provided emergency food help to its 1,000th client.

In February 2012, Chipping Campden was added to the network. Bishops Cleeve followed in October 2015. A sixth outlet opened in Stow in April 2021.

When North Cotswold Foodbank first opened, it was thought that the store room at Naunton Baptist Church would meet its needs.  But needs soared and the small store was under so much pressure that most of the stock was stacked on the chapel pews. Then Guiting Manor Amenity Trust very kindly came to the rescue with a rent-free secure store in Guiting Power.

In January 2013, NCFB became a registered charity. It is now overseen by a group of Trustees.

With the exception of the four members of staff, everyone else works for the food bank as a volunteer without whom we would not be able to operate.

 

To read a longer version of the history click here

 

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