Hunger Heroes: How Wandsworth Foodbank Is Meeting Growing Need With Smart, Targeted Support

Wandsworth Foodbank is adapting to rising demand, digital-era challenges, and winter pressures — while keeping dignity and choice at the centre. Manager Dan Frith shares how the team makes every donation count.

A decade of frontline service

“I’m Dan Frith, Foodbank Manager at Wandsworth Foodbank,” Dan begins. “I’ve been here for 10 years. We started the food bank after seeing people in our community trapped in poverty. Our aim is to meet the immediate need, evidence the problem, and reflect it back to decision-makers so we can end the need for food banks in Wandsworth.”

From idea to impact: piloting Bankuet in Wandsworth

Back in 2019, Dan met with Bankuet’s founder, Robin, to test a simple idea: if so much shopping happens online, could donors give online so food banks could order exactly what’s needed — and avoid stockpiling of items they already had?

“We piloted it here,” Dan explains. “We published a weekly ‘most-needed’ list and invited people to donate via a link. Funds became the exact items we needed — like tinned fish and tinned fruit — rather than more baked beans taking up precious space.”

Then the pandemic hit. “What was helpful became crucial. With lockdowns and supermarket shortages, Bankuet was a lifeline to keep us stocked with the right items at the right time.”

Today, around 60% of Wandsworth’s food still arrives offline via schools, churches, and local shoppers; roughly 40% now comes via Bankuet — and that 40% is precision-targeted to fill the gaps.

A weekly rhythm that reduces waste

Every Monday, a lorry delivers cages of the items Wandsworth ordered the week before. Volunteers weigh, unpack, and crate everything into clearly labelled areas (like tinned fruit) in the warehouse hub. By Monday afternoon, the team has built orders for the six Welcome Centres. On Tuesday morning, the van restocks each centre.

“At the end of each session, centre teams report what ran low — meat vs non-meat, tea vs coffee, toiletries, etc. They submit a simple form: three crates of fruit, four crates of fish, no baked beans next week,” Dan says. “We place the Bankuet order accordingly. There’s no waste, and we can run a small central warehouse efficiently — which is essential in London.”

They also run home deliveries (started in the pandemic and kept for people with disabilities or health conditions). On Tuesdays and Fridays, a dispatch team calls clients to confirm dietary needs, offer signposting and referrals, builds personalised parcels, and volunteers deliver.

Beyond food: essentials that protect dignity

“We always aim to give a nutritionally balanced food parcel — around 30 different lines when fully stocked,” says Dan. “But we also provide toiletries — shower gel, shampoo and conditioner, feminine hygiene products, toothpaste and toothbrushes, deodorant — plus nappies and wipes, washing-up liquid, and laundry tablets. Bankuet helps keep all centres topped up so the support is there when needed.”

The challenges behind the numbers

Recent years have brought layered pressures: the pandemic, a deepening cost-of-living crisis, and a social security system that, Dan says, “isn’t fit for purpose,” leaving people unable to afford essentials.

Before Bankuet, Wandsworth tried to shape donations with tweets, website lists, and phone calls. “Supporters were generous, but forecasting what would arrive was impossible. We’d end up overstocked on some items and short on others.” Bankuet introduced the efficiency and control needed to keep ~30 essential lines in stock across seven locations (warehouse + six centres).

Winter pressures — and a practical response

“Winter is the hardest time,” Dan says. “People on prepayment meters face high energy costs, and many have health conditions that make keeping warm essential. December is always our busiest month.”

Wandsworth is preparing by ensuring plenty of stock for balanced parcels and fundraising for supermarket gift cards — giving people agency to choose what their family needs.

How Bankuet donors make the difference

“Weekly deliveries of the exact items needed, at the right time — that’s the value of Bankuet,” Dan says. “We’re hugely grateful to everyone who donates monthly or one-off. You’re helping us meet immediate needs while we push for long-term change so people are protected from poverty, not pushed into it.”

How you can help

One of the easiest ways to support Wandsworth Foodbank is to donate via their page on Bankuet. Your online donation turns into the specific items local people need — delivered when they’re needed.

“A massive thank you to every donor,” Dan says. “You might think you’re just giving money — but what that becomes is a delivery of food and essentials that goes straight onto local families’ tables.”