After fifteen years at The Mint Methodist Church our Distribution Centre will be moving on Wednesday 1st of May. Our new ‘home’ will be at 174/175 Cowick Street, EX41AA.
There are various reasons behind the move.
Primarily, our work with other agencies that is aimed at helping people though time of crisis requires greater accessibility and more space. We work in regular partnership with Citizens Advice, Exeter Community Energy & Employment Plus. We are able to offer advice with issues like benefit problems, debt, cost of utilities etc. Our aim has never simply been to sustain people in crisis but to help them through the crisis.
We have never seen so many ‘new’ households needing our support. Every single day for the last 10 months have seen 3 households having to seek help from Exeter Foodbank for the first time.
The move will allow more space to meet with clients and greater opportunities to help. Over the last 18 months, since we opened The Living Room (our support hub) we have seen many households helped and many of them no longer need to come to foodbanks. That is our aim and desire; to restore dignity and to revive hope.
Significant work has been done on the new venue. We are delighted that the vast majority of this cost has been covered by grants rather than by donations from the people of Exeter.
The Mint have supported us wonderfully for so many years that it is with sadness that we move. As a charity, the work that we are doing has simply outgrown the space that is available at the church. Our thanks go to all of the members at the Mint for the way that they have supported us in so many ways.
Many thanks to all of the other people who have supported us and helped us in making this move. As a charity we often depend on the kindness of strangers – and this move has been no exception!
Thank you all for your interest and support.
