This year is the 10-year anniversary of Chichester District Foodbank. To mark the occasion, we will be hosting a service of thanksgiving at Chichester Cathedral at 3pm on Sunday 11 June. The event is hosted in partnership with the Cathedral and will be followed by a reception tea.
We would love to have all our supporters, new and old, join us at this event. The event is free but please book your ticket online here. You are welcome to bring a guest.
A celebration and a reflection on challenging times
The service will be both a celebration of what we have achieved as a community over the last ten years, and a reflection on the challenging times we face now and in the future.
The charity was founded in 2012 when a small group of volunteers supported families from the back of a local church. Now, part of the Trussell Trust network of foodbanks, it serves the whole of Chichester District and has four hubs in Chichester, Midhurst, Petworth and Selsey.
Every year we support more people facing hardship
Year-on-year, the numbers of people needing emergency food has grown. From April 2022 to the end of March 2023, we provided emergency food parcels for 7019 people across the district. This is a 29.9% increase on the previous year.
Ultimately, we would prefer not to be needed. For the people in our community to have access to support systems that prevent them from finding themselves unable to afford food. We live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and yet people here in Chichester District are going without the essentials we all need to get by.
Why are people in Chichester District struggling?
Why are people going without the essentials? Everyone’s circumstances can change. Losing your job, needing to care for a sick family member, breaking up with your partner – these are things that can happen to any of us.
We can’t always deal with what life throws at us on our own, which is why we need to have a system in place that supports us all to afford the essentials while we recover from setbacks.
Until then, we will continue to support people in crisis with emergency food parcels. And we couldn’t do that without the support we have from our donors and volunteers. Without them, we simply wouldn’t exist.
Please join us to mark 10 years of Chichester District Foodbank
To show our appreciation, we have partnered with Chichester Cathedral to hold a service of thanksgiving, followed by a reception tea, at 3pm on Sunday 11 June. As a supporter of our work, we would love you to join us.
The event is free, simply book your ticket online here or scan the QR code: 