Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the trustees of Islington Foodbank have taken the difficult decision to close to the public after Monday 23rd March. We understand that we provide a service to vulnerable people who may need us more now than ever, but still feel this is the best course of action for several reasons:
- The health and safety of our volunteers and clients is our top priority, and we feel this is the best way to minimise the risk of infection.
- Our food supplies are running low, with donations down and supermarkets limiting how much we can order, meaning that soon we will not be able to give our clients full food bags.
- We need a minimum number of volunteers at each session to operate safely. Increasing numbers are self-isolating and this is set to increase further if restrictions on over-70s come in as many of our volunteers are retired.
The food bank will be open as normal today (Monday 16th March), Saturday 21st March and Monday 23rd March. Monday 23rd March will be the last day we are open until further notice. We will monitor the situation closely as it unfolds and will re-open as soon as we feel it is safe to do so.
We are communicating to all of our clients and voucher partners now. We believe that it is preferable to close in a managed way, giving our clients plenty of notice, rather than letting events overtake us.
While we are closed, we will not be able to accept donations through most channels. However, you will still be able to donate to us via Bankuet and leave food in our collection points in supermarkets, and donations will be given to SVP, another local charity until we reopen.
We know very well that the local community in Islington are very generous and will want to help their vulnerable neighbours during this difficult time so we will do what we can to signpost to other ways you can help while we are closed. Union Chapel is currently collecting hand sanitizers and soap for local homeless people, and this Facebook group has been created to coordinate support among those wanting to help others out.