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Mike Salter has retired from his role as Chair of the Trustees of the Meon Valley Foodbank.

During his five years at the helm, Mike has guided the charity through the many challenges faced by the foodbank.

We needed to find new premises as we were on notice for quitting our base at Bishop’s Waltham.  A new home and warm welcome was provided by the Wickham Community Centre following Mike’s conversations with the Centre management.

With the onset of Covid we had to adapt our ways of delivering help to our many clients in the Meon Valley. Again it was the drive and management skills of Mike that enabled us to be equipped and meet the greater demands from those struggling to feed themselves or their families.

We are undoubtedly now in a much stronger position to respond to those caught in the trap of food poverty in the Meon Valley.

We wish Mike a happy retirement from all the responsibilities he carried out as chair of our charity and all the hours spent on our behalf both at the foodbank and behind the scenes!

As a token of our love and respect for Mike, the volunteers of the foodbank presented Mike with a nice scented plant for his garden and £100 worth of Hillier’s garden centre vouchers.

Thank you Mike for all that you given of your time and talents to the work of the Meon Valley Foodbank.

On Sunday 24th September 2023 Shirrell Heath Methodist Church held their Harvest Festival. They had a lovely sunny day for it and after the service members of the church enjoyed a sociable time in the church hall and grounds with a fabulous hog roast. 

The congregation did a splendid job collecting both fresh garden produce and pantry items for the food bank, when we went to collect it the car was full , boot ,back seat ,all the footwells and the front seat were packed tight!

We cannot thank them enough for such a large contribution to the food bank and their continued support each week throughout the year

Once again thank you Shirrell Heath Methodist Church

Also thank you to St John the Baptist Shedfield for their generous Harvest donations.

The Meon Valley Food Bank is pleased to announce that it has appointed Annie Thomas as acting chair.

Annie takes over from Mike Salter, who announced he was standing down at the 2023 annual meeting in March, after four years in the role.

The food bank would like to extend it’s thanks to Mike who helped steer the organisation through some unexpected challenges, including Covid and the move to new premises in Wickham, as well as our transition to a registered charity.

Annie is already a familar face at the food bank. Since May 2022, she has worked in the team as an administrator and volunteer ‘at the coal face’.

Annie is a member of St Peters Bishops Waltham and has wide ranging administrative experience as well as a passion to support and care for those in need.

We asked Annie to introduce herself in her own words…

At the start of July a local gentleman called at the food bank at Wickham Community Centre, with a car boot full of groceries and shopping vouchers.

His wife had recently celebrated her 60^th birthday and instead of presents and cards had requested all her family and friends to donate food and vouchers to the Meon Valley Food Bank.

We cannot thank the couple enough for this substantial donation. Such a lovely idea and such generosity of spirit from them and all their family and friends. 

The lady in question had also been celebrating being cancer free for five years.  

Our thoughts and prayers are with her for continuing health and wish her ’Many Happy Returns’ for her 60^th!

David Proud, one of our Trustees, was invited to speak to members on the subject “How is our local food bank run?” at the Waltham Chase Women’s Institute (WI) on valentine’s evening.

Those attending were very interested to learn that the volume of referrals had increased by over 50% but that the food bank was coping well. 

Food donations continue to come in from both established and new sources and cash donations have reached unprecedented levels.

David addressed specifically the question of why we need a food bank in a seemingly prosperous area. 

Clients come to us from so many different backgrounds and circumstances – broken homes, terminal illness, accidents and mental health struggles as well as problem that stem from the cost of living and energy crisis.

We are grateful to WI members for their generous donation of food items which we will put to good use over the coming weeks.