As the coronavirus pandemic unfolds in the UK, our main priority is ensuring the safety of everyone who comes to our food bank – whether it’s someone needing help, someone volunteering their time, or someone making a donation.
Things are changing quickly, so we’ll keep this page updated regularly with information about what’s happening at Rugeley Foodbank and how people can access support and help us be there for people in crisis.
Week commencing Monday 11 May
Rugeley Foodbank remains open as normal, supporting people with emergency food.
This week we are open as usual on Tuesday & Friday.
We are still based at Rugeley Community Centre which is open ONLY for Foodbank sessions between 2.00pm & 4.00pm.
Electronic referral vouchers are now available from the Citizens Advice helpline. Details here.
Our local coronavirus support group can help if you can’t visit the foodbank. You can find their contact details here.
Donations
During the Coronavirus outbreak you may want to help Rugeley Foodbank by donating food but might not be able to get to a supermarket, or the items you wish to donate may not be on the shelves. Therefore, we are kindly asking those who wish to help Rugeley Foodbank during these unprecedented times, to make a monetary donation instead so that we have the ability to purchase our own stock as and when we need it.
By donating money it enables us to liaise with supermarkets to source the food without depleting the shelves.
To give a monetary donation please click on the red ‘DONATE’ button at the top right of this page and follow the instructions.
If you are able to donate food then you can still donate at the permanent collection points in Rugeley Tesco (the bin has now been moved to the end of the customer service desk), Springfield Co-op or Uttoxeter Waitrose. If you wish to donate directly to Rugeley Foodbank at Rugeley Community Centre please be advised that the Centre is now only open for foodbank sessions ie 1.00pm-4.00pm Tuesdays and Fridays.
To our partner agencies and clients
It is our aim to keep the foodbank open for as long as is possible. Should we need to make any changes to our operations we will update this page – we recommend that you check here on a regular basis.
Please continue to issue red vouchers to those in need if you are able to do so.
Should you have any queries please contact us on 07528 447504 or email us at [email protected].
To minimise contact and protect both our clients and our volunteers we have modified the way we operate. We have social distancing measures in place and regrettably, we are now unable to offer the hot drinks, biscuits and the usual informal chat, but please do let people know that they will still be made welcome.
Difficulty obtaining a voucher?
We appreciate that some of our referral agencies will no longer be carrying out face to face meetings with clients who may need the foodbank. We also appreciate that some people who may need to use the foodbank are being advised to self-isolate. If you are having difficulty obtaining a voucher please contact us Monday to Friday on 07528 447504.
We will try to respond to all enquiries as soon as we can in these challenging times.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
The Rugeley Foodbank Team
You can find out how to donate food, or make a financial donation, by clicking here.
You can also follow us on Facebook @FoodBankRugeley to stay up to date.
To find out more about the Trussell Trust network’s response to coronavirus click here.
The Rugeley Foodbank Team