Always on
This project successfully funded on 12th August 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
Community Food Bank for families in food poverty
Bristol, England, United Kingdom
Aim
We're fundraising for our food bank: a vital community space that provides essential food, a listening ear and signposting to other support.
Who are we, and what is our project about?
Ignite Life is a youth charity that supports young people and families facing disadvantage. Our three main services: a community food bank, youth 1:1 counselling and youth 1:1 mentoring work collaboratively to provide support relating to mental health, educational attainment, food security and community engagement.
Our project is a community food bank in Bristol. We support individuals and families who are in food poverty for a variety of intersecting reasons such as being in a single-parent household, mental health challenges or addiction, among other challenges. We operate on a no-referral-needed basis to ensure that we are as accessible as possible and have minimal barriers to people accessing our service. We are volunteer-led and we have a team of compassionate volunteers who help create a safe and inclusive space for everyone.
Our project fits under the funding criteria 'financial wellbeing' as we strive to support service users to build financial resilience. We help to reduce financial strain, improve financial resilience by meeting basic needs, and try and signpost to other support services such as other food banks, local workshops and mental health support. In addition, we have a partnership with Wessex Water, our local water utility company, which allows us to support households in getting their water bills reduced.
Why are we crowdfunding?
There is an urgent need for our project. The Bristol City Council Health and Wellbeing Profile reports that in 2024/2025, 1 in 12 households experienced moderate to severe food insecurity. We have witnessed this first-hand with the increase in people accessing our food bank each week. In January 2026, we supported 230 individuals a week with food provision (141 adults and 89 children). This is an increase from 105 individuals a week in 2025.
Our food bank is a critical lifeline in our community that meets basic, but often neglected needs, and with support from the Aviva Community Fund, we hope to extend this service, and meet the rising demand for our service.
One of our service users said:
'The food bank has been amazing in so many ways. From food, to a listening ear, when I needed a chat'.
How we’ll spend the money raised
£6,000 will support us with 4 months running costs at our community food bank. This is the breakdown as follows:
£2,600 - rent
£400 - utilities
£1,640 - food purchasing (including FareShare membership)
£200 - volunteer costs
£200 - van costs
£960 - operations manager costs
How you can help
There are three simple ways to get involved and support our project:
1. Make a donation
Every pledge gets us closer to our goal. Early support can help build momentum and inspire others to give too.
2. Spread the word
Share our project with friends, family and your wider network. The more people we reach, the more likely we are to succeed.
3. Volunteer with us
If you’d like to get involved, we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch through the ‘Contact’ section using the subject "I want to volunteer my time or expertise" on our project page.
Communities Fund Employee Giving has provided £1,760 of match funding
Communities Fund has provided £300 of match funding
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made