Reaching rural households: the role of our food bank’s vans

​In West Northumberland, the distance between needing help and getting it can be considerable. Rural roads, limited public transport and the cost of a journey all affect whether someone can access support.

​A change that became part of how we work

​We moved to a delivery service during the Covid pandemic, when restrictions changed how we could get food to people safely. What began as a response to those circumstances became our way of working.

Delivering to people’s homes helps us reach households across a wide rural area. It also removes the need to walk through the door of a food bank, something that can feel difficult even when the journey itself is manageable.

Asking for help with food is personal. Someone may have spent weeks trying to manage without support, hoping their circumstances would improve. They may feel uncomfortable about being seen collecting a parcel or explaining why they need one. A delivery cannot remove every worry involved in asking for help, but it can make accepting that help a little easier.

It also means that where someone lives need not determine whether we can support them.

​What happens when a van is unavailable?

​The need for deliveries does not disappear because a vehicle is off the road.

The team still has households to reach, but fewer vehicles available to do it. Routes have to be rearranged, deliveries fitted around other journeys and drivers asked to cover more ground. Across a rural area, the extra distance and time can quickly add up.

There is no collection service we can ask people to use instead. Getting the parcel to the door is part of providing the support.

That makes reliable vans essential to our work. Keeping them fuelled, maintained and ready for deliveries takes money and planning, alongside the time our team gives to packing parcels and organising routes.

These costs may be less visible than the food on our shelves, but they are just as necessary. A donated tin still needs a way to reach the household it is intended for.

Helping us keep deliveries on the road

​We recently said goodbye to one of our vans and welcomed its replacement into the fleet, supported by Councillor Suzanne Fairless-Aitken through Northumberland County Council’s Members Local Improvement Scheme.

Suzanne visited the food bank to talk with the team and see the new van being loaded for deliveries. Her support has helped us replace a vehicle we depend on, and we are grateful for the ongoing interest she takes in our work.

Reflecting on the new van and the work of our drivers, Suzanne said:

​"At a time when the cost of living means that even Christmas can feel like a stretch, the West Northumberland Food Bank reminds us what community can do: turn what we have into what someone else needs. This new van is more than a vehicle. It’s a reassuring lifeline to people feeling the current pinch. The amazing drivers carry kindness from one doorstep to another, getting food where it’s most needed."

​That connection between local support and a delivery arriving at someone’s home is central to how the food bank works. Donations, funding and volunteer time all contribute to getting food to households that need it. Suzanne’s contribution to the new van will help our drivers continue making those journeys.

​Keeping deliveries moving through winter

​As the weather turns colder, household budgets have to accommodate more heating alongside the bills already being paid. Christmas brings further expectations and expenses. A season that offers things to look forward to can also bring anxiety when there is little money to spare.

For our team, the task remains making sure people can get support when they need it, wherever they live in the area we cover.

Financial donations help us do that. As an indication of what that support can achieve, £100 is equivalent to the fuel needed to cover around 800 miles of deliveries, reaching approximately 250 households.

That contribution pays for the journeys between our shelves and someone’s kitchen. It helps our drivers reach the next village, cover the next stretch of rural road and deliver the next parcel.

When you support West Northumberland Food Bank, you help keep that whole service working: the food, the people preparing it and the vans that get it to the door.