The story of the Gainsborough Salvation Army Food Bank is a powerful reminder of what can be achieved when a community comes together.
Since September 2022, the food bank has distributed an astonishing 30,860 bags of food, helping thousands of local people facing hardship. At an estimated value of more than £154,000, those bags represent far more than groceries. They offer reassurance and relief to their recipients.
When Majors Colin and Denise Bradshaw arrived in Gainsborough from East Glasgow in July 2022, they quickly became aware of the scale of rural poverty affecting local families and individuals. A meeting hosted by West Lindsey District Council to discuss the emerging cost-of-living crisis proved to be a turning point.
There, Major Colin learned that more than 2,000 pensioners across the district were living solely on the state pension. Realising that many older people would struggle to ask for help through traditional referral systems, the Food Bank adopted a simple but significant change: anyone in need could simply turn up.
Within weeks, demand doubled from 30 to 60 people a week, with many of the new visitors being pensioners. By November 2022, the figure had risen again to 120 people each week. Many arrived with a mixture of embarrassment and disbelief, often saying, “I can’t believe I’m at a food bank.”
During 2023, the Food Bank distributed 8,172 bags of food. In 2024, that number rose to 9,132. Today, around 144 people are supported every week, with the busiest week on record seeing 238 individuals receive help. It costs £2,500 to run the food bank every month.
What makes these figures even more remarkable is that the operation is run entirely by volunteers. Every donation goes directly towards helping those in need, with no money spent on wages or administration, and this is how they ensure they can meet demand.
The Food Bank’s success is also a testament to the generosity of the wider community. Supermarkets including Tesco, Morrisons, Lidl and the Co-op have contributed regularly, alongside churches, schools, businesses and countless individuals. Teesdale Bakery has generously supplied bread and cakes, while West Lindsey District Council have allocated government funding and private donors have provided vital financial support.
Major Colin said: “The reason for our food bank existing is a sad yet simple one – poverty. The reason we are able to feed so many people every week is a beautiful and powerful one – generosity. If nothing else, our Food Bank proves that we are a community that makes a difference.”
Donations of money (cheques payable to ‘The Salvation Army’) or food can be dropped off on Mondays and Fridays from 9.00am to 1.00pm or Sundays from 9.30am to 12.00pm or posted to The Salvation Army, Beaumont Street, Gainsborough DN21 2ER.
What a bag of food contains
- 1x bag of cereal
- 1x UHT milk
- 1x tin of hot dogs
- 1x tin of chopped tomatoes
- 1x tin of soup
- 1x tin of beans
- 1x tin of tuna
- 1x bag of pasta
- Some tea bags
Weekly Food Bank users
- Pensioners: 50%
- Low paid: 25%
- Other: 25%
Costs
- £2,500 plus donations of food