From Stratford Foodbank:

Although we have previously made adhoc home deliveries when referral agencies have contacted us about a client with a specific need, we have never routinely offered this service.  On Monday 20 June we will be launching a food parcel home delivery service to dovetail with our food parcel distribution sessions at the Fred Winter Centre, this will be run by our volunteers, with the backup of VASA volunteer drivers.

Our aim in introducing this service is to become more accessible to clients in the outlying rural areas, who currently have no way of accessing the Foodbank in the centre of Stratford, due to transport, health, or other issues.

For this service to run effectively, we ask you to consider the following guidance when requesting a home delivery, to make sure we have enough capacity to deliver to those who really have no other option.

Valid criteria for delivery include: 

• Disability or mobility issues
• Illness (including mental health issues)
• No vehicle and unable/impractical to get public transport (this might be a single parent with multiple children who would struggle to get a bus with a pushchair)
• Fear of attack or abuse (e.g. victims of domestic abuse or modern slavery)

Before agreeing to a delivery request, please communicate the following to your client:

• Always ask if there is any way they or someone else can collect the parcel, before offering delivery.
• Ask the reason why delivery is necessary, add this reason to the Collection and delivery notes for the food bank field when you raise the voucher (see step-by-step instructions for where to find this field).
• Check your client’s current address, and that it matches the address on the Foodbank voucher system if it doesn’t, please amend the voucher system to display the current address.

If a delivery is needed, then please make sure to:

• Mark the voucher on the system for Delivery, select Consent to contact and add the client phone number onto the e-voucher. If this isn’t done, then the voucher will not appear on our delivery list, please note without the contact number, delivery is not possible.
• Check any dietary requirements and put these in the Dietary requirements field.
• Ask for any special requests they have i.e. dog food, washing up liquid etc. and add these to the Additional notes field. Please note these are only possible if we are holding these items in the warehouse, so are not guaranteed.
• Please make sure to add the reason for delivery to the Collection and delivery notes for the food bank field so we know the client has been asked and meets the criteria.
• Inform the client that we will need to speak to them before we deliver and ask them to listen out for our phone call which may come from a withheld number.
• Inform the client that they can also call us to arrange a requested delivery if they don’t hear from us – 07736 929 029. Please note clients can’t directly request delivery of a voucher marked for collection on the voucher system.
• Ensure your client knows that the delivery date/time will be confirmed by the foodbank, we can’t deliver at specific times. Normally delivery will take place within 48 hours, although please note we don’t deliver on a Wednesday, Saturday, or Sunday, so sometimes the delivery timescale will be longer.

Our Stratford Foodbank delivery area is the pink area of this map, broadly speaking this is:

• North beyond Henley in Arden to Ullenhall
• East to Tiddington and Alveston
• South to Long Marston, Lower Quinton, Meon Vale, Alderminster, Newbold, Admington
• West to Welford, Bidford, Salford Priors
• Villages on the Warwickshire/Worcestershire border, e.g. Pebworth and Honeybourne

If you are unsure on any of the above steps, please see the step-by-step guidance on how to raise a voucher for delivery.  For any other questions, please call our Projects Manager Kate, on 07736 959 011.