St Johns has been serving up hot soup and fellowship at our weekly soup kitchen since 2014. In March, as the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic began to bite, we realised that we needed to do more. Demand skyrocketed and we moved to twice a week, and since then, we've served up over 8000 hot meals and food parcels. We have contact with over 600 people through this service. We operate a non-referral service. Guests don't need a referral to get food from us, and we don't ask any questions about where they're from or why they need our help. If you turn up during a session, youll get fed. Its as simple as that. Some guests are sleeping on the streets, others in hostels or temporary accommodation. Some are unable to work, others have lost their jobs or work in the gig economy. Some are families, some single people and some have no recourse to public funds. Its an incredibly diverse group of people who are an absolute joy to help. We're now looking at how we can work with other organisations to provide a more holistic service to those who come to us.

As government food provision and funds dry up, and the furlough scheme ends and people lose jobs, we've seen demand continue to rise. We have made the decision as a church to use our main hall to continue running the food bank and soup kitchen. In doing so however, we have also made the decision to give up letting the space which brings in half of our annual income. It is a financial sacrifice that were glad to make, but with a church congregation who already give incredibly generously, we are turning to the local community to help us out.

It costs us about £1500 a month to run the soup kitchen and food bank. This includes money we spend on topping up food donations (something we need to do more and more), takeaway containers, extra cleaning for the building, utility bills and insurance.

We are very blessed by the generosity of local businesses, especially Al Bahia and White Brothers, both on Blackstock Road. We're also supported by the Felix Project. We also grow some of our own vegetables on site, and are looking forward to working with the guests in the garden as soon as social distancing guidelines allow. We can make a little money go a long way, and so anything you are able to give, however small will make a real difference.

Thank you!

P.S. Although we are a church, our soup kitchen and food bank are open to guests and volunteers of all faiths and none.

P.P.S. Along with Brownswood Mutual Aid, we also run a Clothing Bank. If you'd like to donate towards that head to: www.justgiving.com/campaing/bwma-clothing

P.P.P.S. If you feel like volunteering, you can find out more at www.sjebp.com/volunteering/