The Southall Food Distribution initiative was established by the Young Ealing Foundation and Southall Community Alliance in response to the Covid-19 lockdown in April 2020.

As the initial lockdown started our members began to tell us about the problems that many residents were facing in getting food and essentials. This was partly because of their inability to travel, combined with the financial problems that people were experiencing.

We therefore set up the scheme at the Young Adults Centre (YAC) in Southall and planned to deliver food to families on Mondays and Thursdays.

Our first day was Monday 13th April and we received 57 referrals, some being large households. The food we wanted to distribute came from the Felix Project, City Pantry and TKC Restaurant. Within 3 days this had increased to almost 120 and we enlisted the help of Ealing Community Transport (ECT), who provided 5 vehicles to assist with each delivery day.

As demand increased the project later moved venue from the YAC to St John’s Church, where it is still working, dealing with 400+ Southall families each week.

Getting food to so many vulnerable and needy residents requires a massive co-ordinated effort and we have had outstanding Southall volunteers and partners who have assisted with the Food Hub.

© Southall Community Alliance 2022