About
About our foodbank
Who are we?
Gillingham Foodbank is a project founded by local churches and community groups in December 2011. We are all volunteers who are passionate about social justice and ending food poverty within the Blackmore Vale and surrounding areas. Through our local distributors, we support people, not just with emergency food, but also with help and advice to address the root cause of their crisis. We additionally have access to Citizens Advice for more complex needs.
Together, we are working towards stopping hunger in our local area.
Where is the Foodbank located?
Gillingham Foodbank is located at 6 Station Road SP8 4PY (accessed via Paris Court) where we are pleased to accept donations during opening hours. To access food help, please visit our local distributor, Gillingham Community Church, 8 High Street SP8 4AG. For other ways to contact us, see below.
Who can access the Foodbank?
Anyone, whether an individual or a family. If you are faced with the crisis decision as to paying the bills or putting food on the table, we can help. It matters not if you’re on benefits or working – if you can’t make ends meet, we can help.
Which areas do we serve?
Our area is necessarily a large one, bearing in mind the rural nature of the area. We cover an area from Shillingstone to Sturminster Newton, Tisbury to Castle Cary, The Donheads to the Deverills – give us a call if unsure. Please note that we do not cover the Yeovil or Sherborne areas, sorry.
How can I contact you?
The best way to get in touch is either by emailing [email protected] or by completing the online form on our website. Otherwise, call 01747 882076 (answerphone outside of opening hours) or pop into Gillingham Community Church on Monday or Thursday morning between 10am and midday. Other distributors in outlying areas include Open House, Shaftesbury; Citizen’s Advice, Gillingham; Stalbridge Congregational Church; Wincanton Community Church and Cary Cares. Each of these holds a limited number of emergency food parcels on our behalf.
Should you be unable to collect a food parcel, we may be able to deliver one.
What can I expect from the Foodbank?
A warm welcome! You won’t be judged or spoken down to because we recognise that anyone, regardless of their circumstances, can face severe hardship leading to hunger. We genuinely care and want to help, to see the cause of your crisis resolved as soon as possible. Please – if you need our help, get in touch.
Finally, our vision is for a UK without the need for foodbanks. We want to see an end to poverty, where every citizen can afford the basic necessities of life and where hunger is a thing of the past.
We’re still supporting people with emergency food but we’re running a reduced service due to measures put in place to slow the spread of infection. Unfortunately, we’re still not able to see clients face to face but we will always follow up any enquiry with a phone call. For help or advice, please email [email protected] in the first instance, or during opening hours, telephone 01747 822076. Please don’t let the different procedures put you off getting in touch if you need our support!
Should you be unable to collect a food parcel, we may be able to deliver one.