Target reached!
Once we have met our target we will expand our work within the community to reach mo...
Arena Community Foodbank
Ilkeston, United Kingdom
Aim
We provide emergency food to local people to prevent and relieve food poverty.
Foodbanks shouldn’t exist in 2022, but they do.
"The foodbank has really helped us over the years when we have been struggling for food. They are a good support to us and we know we can always come down if we ever need help. Everyone is lovely and treats us well." - Gillian, foodbank user.
Arena Community is a registered charity established in 2006 and is a local response to issues of poverty, isolation, homelessness and unemployment in and around Ilkeston, Derbyshire and Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Our foodbank has been operating for over 10 years.
We believe that no one should go hungry with rising living costs, energy prices at record highs and a reduction in Universal Credit, this winter looks deeply uncertain for many. People across the UK are going hungry and skipping meals just so they can pay the bills.
In Erewash a 2021 study by the University of Sheffield has shown:
- 5.47% of adults suffered from hunger
- 11.66% struggled to access food
- 10.28% worried about not having enough food.
Last year we helped over 5,000 people through several different initiatives that we run in order to meet our four objectives:
- Provision of food and practical resources.
- Provision of quality housing via supported accommodation.
- Training, education and rehabilitation.
- Making communities liveable.
During these times of change when the coronavirus pandemic has threatened our very way of life, there’s an even greater need for help and support. We have already seen record numbers come to us who are in poverty and those who now find themselves in hardship. It makes it even more difficult when you see children and the elderly needing our assistance.
Through our programmes and wider wrap-around initiatives, we aim to build further social confidence by growing agency, power, potential and the ability to act together to shape the future of our community.
Arena Community is mostly funded through donations from Arena Church and through the generous donations of the public. Every penny allows us to help someone. Historically we have been looking at a £60,000 shortfall to cover all the running costs and we believe this year the need will be even greater. Arena Community is funded by your donations, and every penny allows us to help someone.
The National Emergencies Trust has provided £6,585 of match funding
This project successfully funded on 11th March 2022