Beyond food: how Chichester District Foodbank is helping to build stronger futures

Everyone who comes for a food parcel is also offered wider support. People may be dealing with loneliness, poor mental or physical health, debt, housing worries, or uncertainty about work. Whatever the challenge, our friendly team can connect them with advice and guidance from our many partners across the district, including council services, charities and other local agencies.

This support is complemented by a programme of free groups and workshops, where people can build skills, strengthen wellbeing and connect with others in a safe, welcoming environment.

Stand Stronger Together is a relaxed weekly drop-in where people can connect, share experiences and be part of a supportive community. With shared food and creative activities, it’s a welcoming environment where confidence and friendships have grown. The impact is tangible: group members recently came together to organise a fundraiser for the food bank, inspired by the support they received and wanting to give back to others.

Thrive Thursdays focus on practical skills, creative sessions, and wellbeing. Upcoming sessions include a World Book Day event for families and spring salad planting with Transition Chichester.

On Friday mornings, Tea, Toast, Talk offers a gentle start to the day. Visitors can enjoy a hot drink and toast while a different local organisation joins each week to share practical advice, including Supporting You, Citizens Advice, Age UK, Portsmouth Water and Safe in Sussex. In May we’ll also be offering free hair trims and hand massages.

We’ve also been working with Barclays and attending UKHarvest Community Hubs across the district, offering financial wellbeing support to help people manage budgets, address debt and build financial confidence.

Through this work, we aim to support lasting change. As one regular attendee shared:

“The food bank brings people together. Through the groups, friendships form, confidence grows, and people are supported to move forward — not just get by.”

That impact is strengthened through lived experience. Two former attendees now volunteer weekly, offering empathy shaped by their own journeys. As one volunteer said:

“After turning my life around, I wanted to give back to those who helped me and decided to become a volunteer for the food bank. I get to hear other people’s stories and support them using my own experiences. I feel so lucky and fulfilled to be able to help in any way I can.”

By offering support to everyone who needs a food parcel, we are helping people move beyond crisis today, while working towards a future where emergency food is no longer needed.

To find out more about our groups and wider support, please head here: https://chichesterdistrict.foodbank.org.uk/get-help/learning-connection-and-support-groups/