March 2020 Update:
As always The food Drop In needs tinned goods of many kinds but especially tinned meals, tinned meat and tinned fish. Plus toiletries such as shampoo, toothpaste, and shower gel as well as washing up liquid. And there’s always a need for coffee.
Perhaps as part of your Lent project you could spare just a couple of extra items. Bring them to church or put them in the baskets at the supermarkets.
At the moment they have no room for bedding but socks and gloves are still needed.
December 2019 Update:
As we’re all feeling the cold now that winter has really set in, just think how much worse it would be if you hadn’t a home to go to. The Winter Shelter is providing a warm, safe place for several homeless people every night and it runs til the end of March.
Together with the Food Drop in they are helping people from all over the area to have a little comfort in these difficult times. Food is always necessary coffee, tinned vegetables, tinned meat and fish are always in short supply as well as shower gel, roll-on deodorants, toothbrushes and toothpaste, washing powder, washing up liquid and toiletries of all kinds and it’s nice if they can offer a few treats as well.
Do be careful that anything you give does not contain alcohol as they cannot use those things.All these items can be left in the supermarket baskets or brought to church where we can make sure they get to where they’re needed.
And SOCKS..always in short supply. Maybe a previous sock-type Christmas present wasn’t to your taste and has been sitting a drawer ever since. Now it can find a new home..just bring it along, these are only small ways we can help but would be gratefully received.
November 2019 Update:
Thank you
Once again we must say thank you to everyone who has been so generous during Harvest Time. It is all appreciated and without your support we would not be able to function. Lent, Harvest and Christmas are our main collection times and stocks run out in between. So thank you also to people who bring items in week by week.
We try to give out parcels that are exactly the same to all our guests, who get upset if they think someone else is getting a better parcel than them. So please try to stick to our list where possible.
May I remind people that we are not allowed to put out of date items into food parcels, we do put them on the side where guests can help themselves if they wish. This also includes things we receive that do not go into each parcel and cannot be used in our free cafe. However, it means we have to check dates of every single item that comes in. This takes a great deal of time and effort and at the moment we are very short of volunteers. We also need extra volunteers to make sure everything on this free table is also shared equally.
October 2019 Update:
A lovely photo of the ladies, and gent, who have worked the kitchen at Ebenezer for the past 11 years. And there’s Margaret Talbot right in centre stage, Well done Margaret, we don’t know where you get your energy from but if you bottle it we’ll buy some.
September 2019 Update:
At the moment they have plenty of feminine hygiene items, so if you want to give non-food items please can you bring Shampoo, Shower Gel, Toothpaste, Washing Powder and Washing up liquid. Socks and Mugs For foodstuffs they are currently short of all items, but please concentrate on any tinned items, Sweet and Savoury Biscuits and Meat paste.
Monetary Donations
If you already give to Christians Together Calderdale through your bank account and want any, or all, of your donations to go to the Drop In, they need to know IN WRITING. Please email them to let them know. To make a new donations by cheque, please make cheques payable to; “CHRISTIANS TOGETHER CALDERDALE” and write “Drop In” on the back. If you are happy to support any of the other Christians Together Projects rather than the Drop In, please leave the cheque blank on the back. To make new donations via your bank, financial forms including gift aid forms are available on our website giving page: http://christianstogether.org.uk/giving/ Again, if you wish any or all of your donation to be for the Food and Support Drop In rather than Christians Together Calderdale General Funds, they do need your instructions in writing.
Any correspondence should be sent to the Halifax Food & Support Drop In via this email address, to us C/o the Ebenezer Centre or C/o The Gathering Place. 1 St James Road, Halifax HX1 1YS. Thank you to everyone who supports the work of the Halifax Food & Support Drop In, in any way. It is always very much appreciated.
And a really nice letter from another of the Ebenezer Projects:
My name is Amanda Howes, I have run the family drop in for almost 2 years now supported by numerous lovely volunteers. The family food bank runs alongside the main food bank but is held in a separate building which enables us to keep the children in a family centred environment. The aim of this was to encourage families to use the food bank without the stigma that sometimes ensues food bank use.
The children are encouraged to play and socialise with other children, we do this through various means such as: sensory play, crafts, dress up and role play activities. We also offer a quiet space for reading and thinking. Very often the children are carers to their parents or translators and have very little confidence within their peer groups. It is hoped by mixing with other children it builds up self esteem and allows them, for however little time, to just be a child.
We provide on average 25-30 family food parcels, but also provide necessary clothing and baby equipment, this is through a referral process to Calderdale Lighthouse and various other partner organisations. We provide essential toiletries such as sanitary wear. We would like to say a huge Thank You to St. Hilda’s for their continued support and kind donations.
July 2019 Update:
Our friends at Ebenezer are delighted to announce that New Beginnings Church Food Bank will open this week! They are based on Nursery Lane, at the Old Ridings School Site in Ovenden and will be open on Thursday mornings from 9.30 to 11am each week. If you want to contact them their phone number is 01422 385207 or you can email them via their website https://www.nbcc.life/contact-us They are sure you will support and pray for their success in being able to help those who need it in that part of Halifax.
It is a sad reflection on our society that food banks are needed, but a joy to see that the churches in Calderdale taking up God’s call to serve their communities. As well as Ebenezer in the centre of Halifax there are now food banks in Brighouse, Todmorden and Ovenden. All are initiatives of the churches. It is humbling to see that they are also supported by businesses, schools and individuals in each area. Please pray that these will continue while they are needed, and please continue to add just a can or packet to your Shopping next time you’re in the supermarket. Every little helps as the saying goes.
June 2019 Update:
The number of parcels of food being provided at the Food Drop in is increasing each week with over 100 parcels being given out regularly. The family room is also very well attended where the children get a chance to play while at the same time being helped with various crafts and activities. Please keep them all in mind when you do your shopping.
At the moment they are short of:-
Washing powder, washing up liquid, biscuits, shampoo, shower gel, toothpaste, tinned meats and fish, tinned pies, tinned vegetables, tinned rice pudding, meat paste, coffee, toilet rolls and cat food.
There is also a need for large mugs, bath towels, double fitted sheets, double quilts and covers, tea-towels and mens’ socks.
May 2019 Update:
Coming Soon!
New Beginnings Christian Centre Church, in Ovenden are planning to open a Food Bank within the next few months at their centre in Nursery Lane, Halifax HX3 5SW, hoping to serve the people who live in that area. Please remember them in your prayers and support them if you can. If you wish for more information they can be contacted by phone on 01422 385207 or via their website at https://www.nbcc.life/contact-us.
Alternatively you can ask for more information via our email FSDI@christianstogether.org.uk
We also need large mugs and mens’ socks.
April 2019 Update:
The volunteers at Ebenezer do a variety of tasks; some come to help each week, others occasionally. ALL are very much appreciated and they are always looking for more help.
They have a team of voluntary managers who oversee the Drop In, on behalf of the Christian’s Together Calderdale Trustees ensuring the smooth running of the project serving some of the most marginalised people of Calderdale.
They have volunteers who work behind the scenes, usually on Thursday mornings, shopping, transporting goods, dealing with deliveries, splitting large packs, giving talks, finance and administration.
Saturday mornings, when they open, the volunteers are extraordinary! Apart from the parcel make up and distribution team, they have managers who oversee each session and any volunteer training needed, they have welcome and door people, a registration team who check eligibility and individual needs, family and childcare specialists and support assistants who work in the children’s room. Caterers who prepare and serve free refreshments, a befriending team who sit and listen to guests, Christian elders who are willing to pray and talk with guests, runners who go anywhere between all the teams wherever needed, specialist advisers from Second Chances and last but certainly not least, cleaners! It is an amazing experience and pleasure to be part of.
If you are interested. Get in touch. The part time mobile number is 07522 485730. If you leave a message they will get back to you.
March 2019 Update:
During the winter months, the Winter Shelter has been providing a safe, warm place for homeless men and women to stay. They have 12 men’s places and 3 for women and these have been full every night. Not only do they offer food and warmth but also help them into a place of their own and this winter several have been found permanent places to stay, as well as sorting out the financial side of their lives and getting basic furniture and clothing for them.
Food has been provided on a regular, nightly basis by Café Italia, The Larder Deli, Hird’s Fisheries and Sowerby Bridge Fisheries as well as donations of food from the various collection points in Halifax Supermarkets.
So please, on your next shopping trip if you can spare:
Coffee, Tinned vegetables, Pasta sauces, Curry sauces, Instant mash potatoes, Meat paste, other sandwich spreads, tinned rice pudding, washing powder and shower gel just drop a tin or packet into the baskets most supermarkets provide.
February 2019 Update:
10 Year Anniversary of the Food & Support Drop In
Without the wonderful volunteers & donors, the Food & Support Drop-In could not be the great ministry it has been to those in our town who need help. The last ten years have been amazing; as well as over 56,000 food-parcels, help, prayer & especially, love has been shared & appreciated by hundreds of people, both givers & receivers. It has been a great privilege to see many lives transformed! The Saturday and Thursday Gatherings are a testament to that. And the other Christians Together projects that have grown out of it, particularly the Winter Shelter and the Banqueting Table (Pay as you can Café), along with the Second Chances Team. Details of all the projects can be found on the Christians Together Calderdale Website and on our various Facebook pages.
A MASSIVE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE It is impossible to personally thank every person, church, community group, business etc but we do give heartfelt appreciation for the wonderful support we constantly receive. Donations of the items we need & money have been amazing, as has the practical help from willing volunteers, donations have come from the boxes in supermarkets & the varied & innovative ways that groups have collected goods & cash.
Christmas 2018
People have been extremely generous this Christmas and we are very grateful. It has meant a much increased workload for our Thursday volunteers who have been working flat out. Thank you so much to those who come week by week to work behind the scenes.
We also had a lovely Christmas Day meal, with over 100 guests, prepared and served yet again, by Alan and his team. Thank you so much to him and to everyone who were willing to donate festive food or come and lend a hand on the day. We appreciated it, and so did the many of our guests who have told us how much they enjoyed it.
Items needed in the Food & Support Drop In
As usual we are always short of certain items in the Food & Support Drop In. In particular this includes: Tinned Rice Pudding, Tinned peas, Fancy biscuits, Coffee, Toilet Rolls, Shower Gel, Shampoo and deodorant.
November 2018 Update:
This is what happens at Ebenezer
How can you help people who are currently homeless in Halifax?
They are looking for likeminded people to help raise money for the charity that looks after homeless people in Halifax.
They need to raise both awareness and money so that the charity can keep on doing what they do, and more! Just as an idea, it costs £20,000 just to fund the overnight winter shelter – this makes sure that everyone has a place to sleep, a breakfast in the morning and a cooked meal at night during the coldest winter months (December to March)
Their other current amazing work includes:
Food & Support Drop-In (food bank)
• Open on a Saturday morning from 10am until 11.45am
• Over 160 parcels a week provided – 49,000 parcels given to date
• Each parcel is valued at about £8 and will feed someone / a family for 3 daysThe Banqueting Table
· The charity source food that is surplus or about to reach sell by dates and turn it into hot meals 3 lunchtimes a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays)
• It is a ‘pay as you are able’ café and anyone can eat there.The vast majority of clients cannot pay anything
Second Chances
• Assist clients to make applications to the housing authorities, liaise with private landlords to secure and maintain tenancies, offer assistance in referrals to rehabilitation centres and detox agencies.
• Support people in the hope of shining a little light in the darkest of times. They allow people to begin to feel a little self-worth and able to start a journey back into society. This is just a little of what they can offer. Nobody is turned away.Winter Shelter
• In 2015 the winter shelter project gave 52 people a bed during the coldest winter months of the year
• Out of those, they helped 49 into their own accommodation.
• The shelter runs from the beginning of December to March every year and provides a bed for the night together with breakfast and a hot evening meal for people who would otherwise have to sleep on the street
September 2018 Update:
The Food Drop In and the Gathering Place are still providing around 100 bags of food every week and meals on three or four days for those in need of help. At the moment they are short of EVERYTHING and that includes volunteers to help at Ebenezer.
Gathering Place West won’t be back in church until 8th September but you can still leave things in the b ox at the back or at the supermarket when you next go shopping. One more item in your basket won’t harm your budget too much.
July 2018 Update:
As always, The Food Drop in is in need of most things. You can put tins in the bins in the Supermarkets or bring them to church and they are very happy for the tins you buy to be the own make ones as it stops any jealousy when making up the food bags.
At the moment they are still giving out around 100 bags on
Saturdays as well as providing meals for people during the week and for those who come and stay at the Drop in.
Tinned meals, baked beans Pasta, Curry Sauce rice pudding, sweets and biscuits are needed all the time and sandwich filling, jam, peanut butter together with shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste and men’s deodorants would also be welcome.
As many of the people who visit like to read, mens’ books and books for people who would like to know more about Christianity would be helpful.
Perhaps some of the stuff donated for the Mothers’ Union could be diverted and we could have a little sort out of the shelves in the childrens’ corner too.
And if anyone can spare a little time on Thursday morning or Saturday morning to help out the need is very great indeed.
Holiday time leaves them very short of volunteers and means they have less time to devote to talking to people who would really like to have a conversation.
June 2018 Update:
The Food Drop in is desperately short of volunteers and anyone who can spare an hour or two on Thursday or Saturday morning will be very welcome. They are still giving out around 100 parcels each week and as you can imagine that needs a lot of workers to help with all duties connected to it.
The Gathering Place is also very short of helpers during the week. The jobs that they need help with are:-
Pick ups (i.e. food from supermarkets and fast food restaurants)
Cleaning
Help in the kitchen
Food donations are still needed regularly. Tinned veg of all description, tinned pies, meals, fish, baked beans, meat pastes (you can get 4 for £1 from Tesco and Asda.)
Pasta and Curry sauce, Rice, Biscuits, Crackers, Coffee, Sugar, Tinned Rice Pudding, Individually wrapped sweets, Washing up liquid, washing powder, Toothpaste, Shower Gel, Shampoo, Deodorant and Toilet Rolls Socks, gloves, pillows and large towels are still much needed.
There’s a basket at the back of church for any donations you might have and Gathering Place West will collect them on Saturday when they hold their service.
April 2018 Update:
Food Donations
As well as a need for the regular donations more tinned vegetable are still required, Pasta and Curry sauce, coffee, tinned rice pudding and tooth paste are also in short supply. Ebenezer do appreciate all your generosity over the years and it is amazing how they manage to provide for all the clients. Once a client needed a kettle and they had none but 15 minutes into the day one was donated Amazing.
As the cold weather will be with us a bit longer there is still an urgent need for men’s socks, gloves, hats and scarves.
WINTER SHELTER
The shelter has been full for the majority of the time and a lot of different support has been available to the guests, many who have found permanent lodgings with support for health difficulties and other problems.
Please continue to pop a tin or two into the collection baskets at church or in your supermarket. Nothing is wasted as long as it’s in date.
St Hilda's Church, Halifax 