Demand for food parcels falls . . . for now, says community group

THE Henley food bank is continuing to hand out food parcels despite a recent fall in demand.

Nomad, the youth and community group which supports children, young people and families, as well as run the food bank from the d:two centre in Market Place, held its annual meeting on Monday.

Over the past year, the group provided 3,806 one-to-one interventions and 2,560 group work sessions as well as giving out 804 food parcels.

Youth and family support worker Jaco Bruwer, who manages the food bank, he said: “We are on par with previous years with the number of food parcels we have distributed.

“We have seen a slight decrease in the last couple of months, about a 15 per cent decrease, but that is to be expected as we have peaks and troughs.

“The food bank has been an integral part of Nomad since the very beginning - it is a way of helping people.

“It does a lot of work and because it is bolted on to the other work that we do we are able to tailor things quite neatly to an individual’s need whereas a lot of the big food banks cannot tailor it to the person because the project is so big.”

The meeting heard that the group continues to mentor more than 30 students weekly and organised residential visits to Devon and Wales where young people enjoyed activities such as horse riding, gorge walking and mountain climbing.

Tim Prior, the team manager, spoke about some of the residentials the group held over the last year.

He said: “Some people think I am mad but I love climbing mountains. I actually climbed five of them this year. The sense of freedom, simplicity and the miles of untouched natural beauty further than the eye can see. Living in the moment, no internet - that is lovey. No phone signal, forgetting the common and often overwhelming stresses of our daily lives.

“We all face mountains in our own lives don’t we? That could be mental wellbeing financial, relationships, health addiction, just to name a few.

“The young people and families that we support here at Nomad are actually no different. The Nomad team exists to aid, assist and support them as they find their mountains and that help can look really different, whether that’s helping a homeless person in their twenties to find accommodation or get a job.

“Or supporting young people who are disengaged with school and helping them to reintegrate into a safe and a more personalised programme of tutoring here at our centre or helping families crippled with debt. Providing food parcels and getting alongside young people whose parents have addiction issues. Bringing families together with fun, active mentoring and parenting programmes. Targeted after-school clubs, holiday activities.”

Trustee Jeremy Bray, the leader of Henley Baptist Church, said: “Nomad has a strong rhythm thought the year which includes mentoring, life skills and partnering with teachers to work with students who might be struggling.

“As well as school support, the team offers family support parenting courses, one-to-one time with families that might be struggling and has a close partnership with local agencies such as social services, health service and schools to ensure that people are protected and encouraged. Throught out the year the community work goes on and on with the food bank, annual events, 16-plus support, there is a lot going.”

Mr Bray also paid tribute to Rev Duncan Carter, who stood down as a trustee following his retirement as vicar of Holy Trinity Church after 35 years.

He said: “Particular thanks to Duncan who has served a trustee for 20 years and was involved since before Nomad started. A huge thank-you for all you have done.”

Rev Carter said Nomad began after “riots” in Henley in the mid-Nineties, which made national headlines.

He said: “With two weekends of trouble, it turned out to be people out of the town but it sparked us as ministers to start thinking about things. That was the beginning of an opportunity which then a year later saw this group begin to form. It has been a joy and I am also on the receiving end as I am the chair of schools’ governing body. We see the fruit of this and the whole generations of children now which have benefited.”

Peter Lloyd, the finance trustee, said Nomad had received £231,727 during the year, which was just £680 less than the previous year. It spent £239,297, which was £34,463 more than the previous year.

Mr Lloyd said: “As always, I would like to say a big thank you to all of you for your interest and support over this year and to the hardworking volunteers, the Nomad team, generous funders, my fellow trustees and advisory group members who do so much work behind the scenes to ensure the ongoing success of Nomad.”

The group thanked sponsors including Badgemore Golf Club, Benevity,  Brownless, Childwick, COOK, Face of Henley, Gillotts School, Henley Baptist Church, Henley Golf Club, Henley Town Council, Invesco, the John Hodges Trust, Langtree School, the Mosawi Foundation, National Lottery, Open Network Foundation, Phillimore Trust, The Py Foundation, South Oxfordshire District Council, Tesco, Thamesfield Youth, Ward Consultancy, churches and schools.