Bournemouth meals financial institution relaunches 14 months after flood | EUROtoday

A meals financial institution that was broken because of flooding 14 months in the past has formally re-opened and rebranded.

Kinson and West Howe Foodbank in Bournemouth, subsequent to St. Andrew’s Church, has launched a bigger, free neighborhood service often known as The Sanctuary Project.

Described as a “safe and warm space open to all”, employees additionally supply housing recommendation, assist with kinds, and different sensible help.

Project supervisor Vikki Longman advised the BBC: “People need more than just food, so the approach is more holistic now for every aspect.”

She stated the price of dwelling had elevated demand for the service, which additionally has washing machines, tumble dryers, and a bathe.

“People just don’t have surplus money anymore,” she defined.

“When something goes wrong that’s a massive chunk of their money… a lot of our community, [they] budget for what they can and cannot afford, and when there’s a surprise, they haven’t allocated the money for that.”

Service consumer Sasha Currell stated: “You don’t realise how much you rely on communicating with people until you’re in that situation, and coming here you just talk to people and they’ll listen to your problems, and it just makes you feel better.”

Cindel, one other customer, added: “I think this is one of the nicest food banks that I’ve been to. They’re very kind, very welcoming. I just really enjoy it here.”

Holly, who not too long ago grew to become homeless together with her daughter, stated the assistance offered made her really feel much less like an “on paper… statistic sort of thing”.

“That’s what they do here, they get you heard, they get you listened to,” she stated.

“My life’s changing slightly… but we feel safe, we feel secure, we feel that we can rely on the people that are here.”

The foodbank, which started in 2015 and is staffed by volunteers, is supported by anti-poverty charity Trussell Trust.

The Sanctuary Project is open Monday to Fridays.