ACTS of Kindness (AOK) Foodbank has partnered with Redditch Borough Council’s Homelessness Team to ensure people facing sudden homelessness have access to vital emergency food at the very moment they need it.
AOK Foodbank is normally open Monday to Friday, 10am until 1pm. However, council officers often encounter people in crisis outside of these hours – particularly late in the afternoon or evening – when the foodbank has already closed.
In these situations, officers have frequently found themselves buying food out of their own pockets to make sure vulnerable residents are not left hungry.
Redditch Borough Council regularly has to place people in emergency accommodation such as B&Bs, where access to cooking facilities is extremely limited – often no more than a kettle in a room.
Until now, this has made it difficult to provide meaningful food support at short notice.
In response, Acts of Kindness is now supplying the council with ‘kettle-ready’ emergency food packs, designed specifically for people placed into temporary accommodation.
These packs ensure no one presenting as homeless – even late on a Friday – is left without food until the foodbank reopens.
Each pack provides three days’ worth of emergency food and includes items that can be prepared with minimal equipment, such as pot noodles, cup-a-soups, couscous, cereal, long-life milk, jam, fruit juice, tinned fruit and custard, biscuits, and tinned meat.
Essential toiletries such as soap and toothpaste are also included, recognising the dignity and wellbeing of the individual, not just their hunger.
The scheme comes at a time when homelessness is rising sharply across the borough.
This partnership ensures help is available immediately, offering both practical support and reassurance at one of the most frightening moments a person can face.
Residents who wish to support this project are encouraged to donate long-life food items suitable for someone with very limited cooking facilities.
Donations can be dropped off at Acts of Kindness Foodbank at 24 Church Green East, at Redditch Library or via supermarket donation points.
