The North Paddington Foodbank core offering is to support local residents in need with access to advice, and emergency income in the form of supermarket food vouchers. They are the only service to be offering this form of support in Westminster, and since moving to a ‘Cash First’ model at the start of November last year, it’s proved hugely popular, and they have been able to give households more control and dignity to choose and buy their own food.

The food bank can offer up to six weeks of support within a six-month period, and they expect customers to engage with other services or their support worker to improve their financial situation. If a household requires more than six weeks of support within six months, the food bank will need to understand the exceptional circumstances and confirm that the household is fully engaging with advice services. The food bank may request additional information to ensure that their resources are used effectively and that support from advice services in Westminster can prevent long-term reliance on food aid.