A Storage Container That Feeds Families: Supporting Communities in Need
9 February 2022
We usually attend Stowmarket Chamber’s regular networking meetings. And that’s how we came to be talking about our container business when Mike Smith was there as a guest.
Mike runs the Stowmarket & Area Food Bank, and we had no idea we were the answer to his prayers. We soon found out! Because after we’d talked about what we do, Mike was quick to get in touch.
Helping meet the need of people who meet the need
2020 was a tough year for all of us, but particularly tough for the Food Bank. Mike Smith and his team of volunteers provide essential supplies to people in genuine need in and around Stowmarket. And there’s been plenty of genuine need.
Until recently the Food Bank was meeting that need from the Hillside Community Centre in Stowmarket. As demand grew they were able to take extra space; space no longer in use by the groups who normally meet there. But even that wasn’t enough. So it wasn’t long before they needed additional storage space in a container. Which couldn’t be as close to the Centre as they’d have liked…
Time to move on…
As an end to lockdown came in sight, and more people wanted to use the Centre, it became clear they’d have to move. And that’s when they were offered the use of a building at a local egg farm which happens to be run by Sarah Manning’s sister…! So they’ve kept an office at Hillside, but all the sorting and packing is now done at the farm.
Great – but they now really needed a bigger container. And preferably much closer to the packing area…
Bigger, better, closer!
As Mike tells it, ‘Sarah followed up very quickly, and was very easy to talk to. She chatted with her sister and brother-in-law to see what they could do. We’d originally asked for a 20-foot container, but they realised there was room for a 40-foot container on the site. So she sent one of her guys to see if they could get the truck in. They decided they could, we got a date for delivery – and that was that!’
Mike was in hospital when the container arrived, so we sent him a video of the delivery. We didn’t want him to miss out!
‘The customer service was excellent,’ said Mike. ‘And we’re delighted. The container’s our main store now, and the place where we keep all our longer dated stock. We couldn’t function without it!’
To learn more about the Food Bank why not visit their website, check out their Facebook page or send them a donation on their Kindlink page? If you’d like to donate actual food there are drop-off points at Tesco, Asda, Lidl, Solar, Stowupland Garage, and the Co-op stores in Needham Market, Haughley, Elmswell, and Woolpit as well as many local churches and the Hillside Community Centre.And if we could be the answer to your prayers, give us a call on 0208 125 7015 or drop us an email.
