Southend Vineyard is a Christian Church affiliated to Vineyard Churches UK and Ireland and the Storehouse is our Food Bank and Community Cafe that gives away 480 food bags each week, to those on low incomes, those caught in debt, those struggling with Universal Credit payments and the Homeless.

We currently have 3500 people registered with us, which represents 1.9% of Southend-On-Sea's population. This is a significant number of people for a charity like our own, who employ a few key staff but depend largely on members of the community to support the work of the Storehouse. You can read about the work of the Storehouse on our web page: Storehouse Website...

We operate out of a former community centre, which forms part of a massive redevelopment of the Queensway Estate. Queensway Development...

This means that we need to move out of our current building in the next year (August 2019). We have identified an ideal space close to our current facility and have secured a mortgage to purchase it. We would need to prove that we have the £150,000 required to draw down the mortgage before we can move forward with the purchase.

Why this space? Well, it is due to the geographic location, the purchase price and mortgage payments being manageable. We believe that the facility in the heart of the town centre will help in the regeneration of our High Street and provide a space for those who have nowhere to rest or pass the time during the day. We currently rent a school to hold Sunday Services as part of Southend Vineyard. Having one space means we can work out of one location and utilise the resources we already have in the new building. We currently have an office space and a charity shop in the same building so we would be drawing everything together.

We partner with Sainsbury's, Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Waitrose, Lidl, Gregg's, Makro and other charitable agencies operating in Southend, to support those dependent on drugs or alcohol, those sleeping rough, those requiring support with their mental health, those struggling with debt, those with problems with housing and rent arrears, and those out of work... we seek to be a safe haven in the storm of life.

Through the food bank we provide a small amount of food each week and in the community cafe, we provide hot meals, warmth and shelter from the elements, supportive staff and volunteers willing to offer advice and support through the circumstances we face. We encourage people to seek the help available to them in the community from our partners and offer opportunities to volunteer with us in the cafe, the food bank and our charity shop.... we love doing life together... come and be part of the family.

Someone recently said that if 1000 people came together with £150, we would have raised the money needed to prove to our mortgage lender that we have the funds to purchase the premises we have chosen and move onto the next chapter of the Storehouse...