April Update from Gordon
07/05/2024
The Need Project offers much more than just food parcels through referrals.
We also run a collection service, employing someone to gather “best before” food items from a range of local supermarkets.
Each week, we distribute over 500 bags of this food across Stotfold, Sandy, and Shefford—preventing perfectly good items from ending up in landfill and helping our communities access essential supplies.
We are in …
Stotfold
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
from 11.00am -12.30pm.
Sandy
Tuesday
from 11.00am to 12.30pm.
Shefford
Wednesday
from 9.30am to 11.00am.
Any surplus food we’re unable to distribute directly is shared with other local charities, including Feed Up Warm Up and Kings Cabin in Letchworth—ensuring nothing goes to waste and more people benefit.
In partnership with Kings Baptist Church in Stotfold, we also run the Home from Home Community Space, held every Wednesday afternoon from 1–3pm at the church. Originally launched as a Warm Space, its overwhelming success led us to continue the initiative beyond March 2023.
This welcoming space has become a big part of the community. It’s a place where people can relax, connect, and make new friends. We offer games, jigsaws, knitting (bring your own), and of course—plenty of cake! A free lunch is available to anyone who’d like one, with consideration for various dietary needs. We’re open every week, including during school holidays, and everything is completely free of charge.
The only time we pause is for a few weeks in December, when our focus shifts to preparing and delivering Christmas Food Parcels. Over two weeks, we assemble and distribute these parcels across Central Bedfordshire from our network of hubs.
None of this would be possible without our incredible team of volunteers. Across our five locations—Stotfold, Flitwick, Cranfield, Gamlingay and our partners in Biggleswade, we’re supported by over 60 volunteers who contribute a remarkable 291 hours each week. And that number continues to grow.
