- Deodrant (for both men and women)
- Sponge puddings
- Jars of coffee (small 100g jars)
- Sugar
- Custard
- Rice pudding
List updated 5 November 2021. Find out more >
Giving at Christmas
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6,800 three-day emergency food supplies from the Exeter Foodbank given to people in crisis during 2018
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1 in 5 of the UK population live in food poverty
The University of Exeter has supported the work of Exeter Foodbank and Exeter's Colab for a number of years and this year is no exception. In the past two years we have:
- Shared £1,437 between the Exeter and Penryn Foodbanks by donating £1.00 for every completed Employee Engagement Survey.
- Donated a total of 4.5 tonnes during our Christmas call to action in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
- Donated over 120 coats to Colab in Exeter which were distributed to the needy.
- Volunteers from the university have sorted the donations at the Foodbank store and some have gone on to be long term volunteers with the Foodbank.
- Taken part in various Community Challenge Days which has enabled staff to continue volunteering opportunities outside of work.
This year, we would like to make our donations bigger and better. We are encouraging staff and students to join us for our Christmas initiative to provide food, drink and warm coats to those who are in desperate need of it. Find out how you can get involved below because 'yule be glad that you did':
Exeter Foodbank
The current food shortages are listed within the priority list.
For information on what items go in a standard Foodbank parcel, please see their website.
CoLab
As well as food donations, we are also putting a call out for your unwanted coats to be donated as part of the CoLab Exeter 'Winter Coat Exchange'. These will be given to adults in Exeter who are homeless or can't afford to keep themselves warm this winter. Please bring your coats with you on the day. Let's keep Exeter warm this winter!
Please donate items from the priority list where possible; this is essential in helping the Foodbank to balance their stock. A full list of what is included in a foodbank box can seen here.
The Foodbank are unable to give out any items containing alcohol - including steak & ale pies, white wine sauces, brandy butter, sherry trifle, chocolate liqueurs etc. Please do not include these items within your donations and definitely check the packaging of any Christmas products for any sneaky ingredients!
It really doesn’t matter! This is a great activity for teams and individuals and we would welcome food donations from anyone. We are just extremely grateful for your support.
Please bring your donations to us between 11:00am-2:00pm on Wednesday 8 December to the areas below:
- Streatham Campus - University Reception (Northcote House) (contact s.ohara@exeter.ac.uk)
- St Lukes - South Cloisters (contact j.chudley@exeter.ac.uk)
If you are not available on Wednesday 8 December please drop your donations with your nearest Info Point/hub in the week before and we will arrange to collect it. Please note that we cannot accept donations after 8 December but please feel free to donate at any of the Foodbank collection points in the city.
Yes please. We are hoping for a huge donation this year and that will take quite a lot of sorting. In 2019 it took 12 people half a day at the Orange Elephant, Kennford where the Foodbank have their store. If you would like to volunteer for sorting on Thursday 9 December please contact Sue O’Hara directly: s.ohara@exeter.ac.uk.
If you have any questions, please contact Sue O'Hara directly.
Volunteering inspiration
In December 2018, members of our team took part in a 'Community Challenge Day' at Exeter Foodbank based in Kennford. We sorted through every single donated item and ordered them into their 'type' and their best before date. The donations were vast which meant that we were kept busy for the whole time we were there. I was humbled by the donations given with things such as sanitary products, soap and baby wipes being needed as well as tins of vegetables and meat. It opened my eyes to things I often take for granted.
Since then, I have been volunteering once or twice a month to help with sorting at the Foodbank. Although it's only a couple of hours at a time, through the newsletters, priority lists and the 'good news stories' it makes me realise that those couple of hours can provide a few weeks worth of food to those who need it. I recommend this to anyone.
Catherine - Member of staff