OUR HISTORY
Bow Foodbank was established in 2014 to respond to the need for emergency food supplies for people in Tower Hamlets.
The charity was founded by a group of local people, including those from Bow Church, Our Lady & St. Catherine of Siena Church in Bow and from the local Synagogue and Gurdwara. Still today representatives from these groups are involved as trustees and community volunteers.
Originally active in Bow Church, during the pandemic the demand for food grew to such an extent that the charity needed to find new premises. It moved to the Bromley-by-Bow Centre as most of the centre’s activities had ceased during the covid crisis.
In 2019, we also opened the Bethnal Green Foodbank at St. Matthews church, but soon had to move to larger premises and were fortunate to be given use of Raine’s Foundation School as the school had closed to pupils.
After 10 years of being hosted in accommodating locations within Tower Hamlets the needs of our community continued to grow, and it became clear that we needed to adapt to ensure we can continue providing the support our community relies on.
In summer 2024 we moved to our first home of our own just off the Roman Road at William Place. This new location is a significant milestone for us, and we are excited about the opportunities it brings to build more resilience in our community. It means we are open more days, can hold training and workshops as well as market place sessions with local partners like our neighbours at the doctors surgery next door.
Bow Foodbank is not a faith-based charity and people from any or no faith can visit the foodbank without needing a referral.