Different ways to help
Many people ask about the best ways to support the foodbanks, so we have prepared a quick guide for anyone interested.
Food donations
This is the most common and well known way to help. We are grateful for any donations you can give. And if you want, you can also check our social media posts for items we currently need the most. There are a few ways to donate:
- Directly to us
You can bring your donations directly to the Warehouse, at the Waterloo Town Hall, L22 1RD – just give us a ring on 0151 933 1300 to make sure someone is in – or to St Leonard’s Youth & Community Centre, 60 Peel Road, L20 4RW which is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 4.30pm.
- Distribution centres
If you cannot make it to the Warehouse or to St Leonard’s, you can bring your donations to your closest distribution centre – you can check our locations here – and they will pass it on to us for processing.
- Supermarket collection bins
If you are short of time there are also the collection bins in the supermarkets – it’s easy to buy an extra thing or two during your normal shopping visit and leave it in the bin on your way out.
However, please remember that only items purchased at that particular supermarket can be donated via the collection bins – unfortunately, you cannot bring food items purchased elsewhere and donate them this way. If you have some food items that you want to donate like that, dropping them off at one of our distribution centres might be your best bet.
South Sefton Foodbank has collection bins in these locations:
- ASDA Aintree
- ASDA Bootle
- Co-Op Waterloo
- Lidl – Bootle, Seaforth, Maghull and Fazakerley
- Sainsburys Crosby
- Tesco Litherland
- Tesco Formby
- Waitrose Formby (every other month)
Monetary donations
Donating money allows us to buy items we are short of, or that are in critical demand. It also allows for stock control, making sure we don’t run out of the basic staples. There are few different ways to support us financially:
- Standing orders
You can set up a standing order via our website, however, you will need to do it on a computer, rather than a phone.
Simply go to https://southsefton.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-money/ and click on the Charity Checkout Donate button. It will take you to a secure site where you can set it up.
Your donations will go to St Leonard’s Youth and Community Centre, as this is the Charity that runs the Foodbank – but be assured that your donations are automatically marked for the Foodbank.
If you don’t want to do it via our website, we can of course help you with the traditional route. Simply email [email protected] for the form and instructions, or download it from our website here.
- Once-off donations
Of course, if you want to do a single donation, that is also possible.
You can do it through our website, and the link above, simply chose ‘One off’ option in the frequency drop down menu on the first page.
We can also accept cash donations, cheques (made payable to St. Leonard’s Youth & Community Centre, as the main Charity) or bank transfers – just email us if you need any assistance.
Finally, you can also support us via the GiftAid initiative, where we receive an extra 25p for every £1 you donate to us – the correct form can be found here.
Other ways to help
Sometimes helping financially is simply not an option, but it doesn’t mean you cannot help at all. Here are some other ways to support us.
- Volunteer
While right now we are not taking on any volunteers, we thank you for thinking of us. We hope that will change in the future, and then we will update this post accordingly.
- Organise collections in your community
You could also organise a Foodbank collection at your workplace or in your community. If you need some ideas, we have a Trussell Trust booklet available here.
- Spread the word on social media
And finally probably the easiest way to support us – simply spread the word by sharing and reposting our messages on Facebook and Twitter. It really does work and help us immensely to keep running!