If you have been staying in the loop with our goings on you'll know that one of our pledges in response to the cost-of-living crisis was to volunteer at the Euston Foodbank to help those in need. Every day, people in the UK go hungry for reasons ranging from redundancy to health problems to housing loss to low income, and many more reasons.

With 1 in 5 of the UK population living below the poverty line, we felt passionately about getting involved as volunteers to help combat poverty and hunger across the UK. Food banks are essential. Volunteering and donating are the real driving force behind what keep them in existence. There are thousands of volunteers across the UK helping food banks get emergency food to people in crisis.

Here at UpCircle, we want to bring awareness to the scale of the crisis as well as inspire our UpCirclers to get involved. Whatever volunteering role you choose, you will make a real difference to the life of someone in crisis. Continue to read about team UpCircle’s experience...

Did you know that there are more food banks worldwide than there are McDonald’s?! Mind blowing.

About Euston Food Bank:

Euston Food Bank is a non-profit organisation who provide emergency food to people in crisis.

At Euston Foodbank, clients are given autonomy to choose what they want and not restricted to whatever is left over. The food collection process for clients works in four stages:

1. Collect a ticket number in the morning
2. Come back at a designated time (usually 12pm)
3. Fill out a form including dietary requirements, what they want and number of      people in a household
4. Wait for their food parcel to be made by volunteers and hear their ticket number be called out for collection.

“We don’t think anyone in our community should have to face going hungry. That’s why we provide three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred to us in crisis. We are part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK.” – Euston Foodbank

What did Team UpCircle do?

As volunteers, we helped prepare food parcels for the recipients which included bringing in stock deliveries, weighing, restocking, date checking, sorting food and collating the parcels for each person. It was definitely a hands-on experience compared with a typical day at UpCircle HQ, but all the hard work was well worth it. Team UpCircle alone helped over 200 families and individuals suffering from food poverty on each day that we volunteered.

Hear what team UpCircle has to say:

 

Kimberly - Head of PR & Events:

“Volunteering was an eye-opening moment for me as I understood there was a crisis, but not to this extent. It was really touching to see the smiles on people’s faces as we handed out parcels. It made me feel EXTREMELY grateful as well as inspired to volunteer more in my spare time” 

Sophie - Head of Customer Care:

“Volunteering at the food bank was a very interesting and heart-breaking experience. In a country as wealthy as the UK, there shouldn't be a need for food banks. The reality is, there is a need for them, and banks like the Euston Food Bank are incredible. They give people autonomy and allow their clients to choose which items they receive, ensuring that not only is food not wasted but people are still able to enjoy their food in some capacity and are not just eating it because they have to.”

Katy - Head of UK sales:

“We’ve all seen the increase of food bank usage on the news, but it was eye-opening to see how much demand has shot up in person. Having to ration vegetables or toilet paper so that all the families would receive something was probably the hardest part, it just felt so unfair especially for larger families. It was shocking & unacceptable to find out that councils refer people to the food banks but don’t provide any funding or support. The government needs to do more to support people in crisis – there shouldn’t be ANY children living in poverty in the UK.” 

Iza- Head of Global Sales: 

“Volunteering at the Euston Food Bank was an enlightening experience. Apart from getting our hands dirty and helping out preparing and during the food service - a lot of information was shared about Food Banks throughout the country. Especially the statistic that there are more Food Banks than McDonalds in the UK shocked me! Additionally, hearing that these services are sometimes run by severely understaffed teams, makes it even more apparent how badly the help is needed. I definitely would love to find a local organisation to volunteer at!" 

How can you help?

1. You can donate food to the food bank
2. Be a regular volunteer
3. Make a financial donation at:
Euston foodbank, Caf bank
account details: sort code 40 52 40
account number: 00030844


Food banks exist to help those in crisis so that children do not need to go hungry to school, elderly folks do not have to choose between eating and heating and mothers do not have to sacrifice their essential personal items to prioritise the needs of their children. There are many more situations of course, but as a community we can all help reduce these unfortunate circumstances by volunteering or donating.

With lots of love,
Team UpCircle x