Colchester Foodbank

Who we are

The mission of Colchester Foodbank is to “prevent or relieve poverty in Colchester and the surrounding area, in particular but not exclusively by providing emergency food supplies”.

Over the last few years the food bank has grown substantially, in response to rising demand, and last year provided 20,000 food parcels to adults and children through 11 satellites in and around Colchester. In addition, it signposts clients to specialist agencies who may be able to help with specific problems.

Colchester Foodbank is a franchise of the Trussell Trust, a community of food banks that share best practice and expertise, and campaigns nationally for policies to address the underlying causes of food poverty. Colchester Foodbank actively drives those campaigns locally. The food bank employs 5 part-time staff in addition to the Director, relies heavily on the support of nearly 300 volunteers and works with over 200 partner agencies. The tremendous contribution and achievements of our volunteers has just been recognised by the award of the King’s Award for Voluntary Service.

The food banks is dependent on financial and in-kind donations from the public, corporate sector and grant funding. A digital copy of the 2022 annual report is available on our website.