Needs of our clients always comes first - Running a Foodbank

As the foodbank has grown and become more active the role of manager has moved from being a day-to-day job to one that requires more long term thinking.  This has led to viewing the foodbank almost as a business in order to ensure that it is and will run.  This includes looking at how many clients we will serve and how much food we will need.  Focusing on all this administration can cause anyone managing the foodbank to lose sight of why they are really in the job, which is to feed those who come through our doors.

The clients who through our doors are incredibly varied and represent the very wide range of crises that can cause food poverty.  The reason anyone decides to volunteer or work at a foodbank is to help these people through their short-term crisis, as well as to help them out of it.  This can be challenging when faced with clients who are difficult with volunteers when receiving food.  Part of the ethos of the foodbank is to not judge anyone who comes for help.  All people referred to us are in need and we as volunteers do not know the full extent of their history.  It is dangerous to judge people based on your first conversation with them.  Clients must be made as comfortable as possible in the foodbank and volunteers and employees must strive to ensure that even if they find it difficult or uncomfortable.

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