On Monday 7th June 2021 the Food & Essentials Hub opened its doors for local families in Croydon for the first time at Longheath Community Care and Church Centre.

The Food & Essentials will be operating on a weekly basis on Mondays from 11.30am -1.30pm for families to come along and receive food and household donations.

Working in partnership with Longheath Community Care and Church Centre, the Food & Essentials Hub will be delivered by the Start It Right team and will be available to support families living around the Longheath Gardens estate.

Approximately 450 families living within the Longheath Gardens will be able to access the hub right at their doorstep.

Those who register for the hub will be able to collect a range of items including fresh fruit and vegetables, pasta and breads, confectionery, toiletries and lots more.

Many of these items will be sourced as surplus donations from local supermarket stores, all contributing towards the initiative to tackle food poverty within the community.

There will also be an opportunity for individuals to make generous donations towards the hub by handing in items at our drop-off point every Monday from 11am -12.00pm.

The Food & Essentials Hub will be a welcome resource for many local families in the community, especially as the number of food banks up and down the country have soared throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

In Croydon, many families are unfortunately experiencing hardships associated with food poverty. This is a current situation which has been further compounded by the number of job losses that have risen in the past year.

For young people especially, being offered a balanced nutritious meal is vital to supporting their personal growth and development. Unfortunately for some families, affording basic necessities such as food to put on the table can become even more of a task during the school holidays. It is figured that more than 11,000 children under the ages of 16 years old living in the borough are entitled to free school meals alone.

We hope that the Food & Essentials Hub, alongside other food banks within Croydon, will play its role in helping to alleviate some of the challenges local families face in accessing free food and household items.

The Chairman of Longheath Community Care and Church Centre, Ian Cordery, describes the difference the hub will make to the local neighbourhood.

He said: ‘ The Longheath Community Care and Church Centre is delighted to be working with Start-it-Right in providing the Food and Essentials Hub. This facility is especially important in helping our community emerge from what has been a long and difficult lockdown period for many. The Centre was very pleased that the launch of the Hub was our re-opening event after being closed for the lockdown since March last year. The Centre is grateful to the donors who have made and will continue to make the Hub possible for those who are in need in our local community. '