Students' Union Food Hub

In 2014, we set up the FoodHub due to the increased demand from students who were facing short-term financial hardship and difficulty in buying food and daily essentials. Our aim as a Students’ Union is to support and advise our students, so working alongside student volunteers, we developed the FoodHub.

The FoodHub is supported by donations from Staffordshire University, students and staff, external donors, and fundraising events. We believe that the FoodHub is a critical part of our service. It provides a backstop for our students while we work with them to identify additional funding options to empower them to maximise their income.

We’re always happy to talk about the work of the FoodHub and promote what we do. In 2019, we spoke with the BBC and in 2020 we were interviewed by The Guardian.

Ultimately, our aim is simple: we want to provide our students with immediate access to food while working through longer-term solutions.

 

Using the FoodHub

Our friendly team are here to support you. If you're struggling with your finances or need access to our FoodHub service, please get in touch.

  1. Book an appointment with the Students' Union Advice Team
     
  2. Speak with one of our advisers, who will support you to get access to our FoodHub, as well as offering money advice
     
  3. The adviser will tell you where you need to go to get your FoodHub bag which will contain enough food to last you a couple of days.


Partnership Working

Sometimes we receive items which we're not necessarily able to use for the FoodHub or we have items which have gone beyond their Best Before Date. To make sure that we are not wasting food which might otherwise go to a good home, we partner with local organisations who support those in need by sending them some of our donations which would otherwise need to be thrown out. Those organisations are:

  • Concrete, who work to tackle the issue of homelessness from all angles;
  • Trussell Trust, who work to stop UK hunger and poverty and provide a network of foodbanks provides emergency food and support to people in crisis;
  • Affordable Food Stoke, who are dedicated to supporting our community, reducing food waste & feeding families.