News from the Foodbank
HAYES COMMUNITY FOOD BANK: Registered Charity 1198866
Account details (Co-op Bank):
Hayes Community Foodbank Kent; 08-92-99; 67307296.
1st Hayes Rangers have supported the
FB since its inception but a couple of months ago we held a meeting and invited other local groups to come along and find out more. Since then Coney Hall Rangers have picked up the challenge and have been actively collecting food and hygiene products from the shops in Coney Hall. Not only has the Foodbank been a beneficiary but we’ve raised awareness with more young people.
Some folk may remember that when the foodbank first opened I wrote an item about trying to find the ‘best before’ dates . Every product hides them in a different place; quite often its printed in tiny tiny numbers; some products have their dates on the necks of the bottle or jar but in a colour not dissimilar to the contents; some dates are hidden in the folds of the packaging. Despite my call to food producers for some kind of consistency, I think things have got worse! Whenever we collect donations the first thing we do is check to see that the item is in date. Hayes School has just had a foodbank donation drop and we were checking through the items given before putting them onto the shelves 
and all 5 sorters could not find any date whatsoever on a particular bag of sugar. As for the crystalised strips of apple from Iran – not only could we not find a date but we had no idea of the ingredients. For safety we’re not allowed to give these items out so we leave them for the volunteers on the understanding that if anyone takes something, they buy a replacement. My plea to food manufacturers is – again – please regulate, conform, and listen to the shoppers. My suggestion is that the date goes alongside the product barcode label – the first company to do this will be supported by me!
edures to ensure we are viable. Our thanks to everyone who supports us physically, financially and in prayer.
Teresa and the team