A help-yourself food bank opened on 1 October at Little Cubs Day Nursery, Boveney Road, Honor Oak. Open 8am to 6pm: take what you need, give what you can.

A community food bank opened today, 1 October, at Little Cubs Day Nursery Honor Oak on Boveney Road, and the sign on its door puts the whole idea in one line: “Take what you need. Give what you can.”

The nursery’s manager, Carol, told Lewisham News: “We have opened a community foodbank from today at Little Cubs Day Nursery Honor Oak, Boveney Road.” She sent the two photographs on this page, of the poster and of the cupboard on its first day.

How it works

The poster fixed to the cupboard door sets out the terms plainly. It is “open to our community”, 8am to 6pm, and it says: “Please help yourself to what you need.”

Poster on a dark grey cupboard door reading Little Cubs Day Nursery Honor Oak, Community Food Bank, supporting local families and our community, take what you need, give what you can, open to our community 8am to 6pm
The Community Food Bank poster on the cupboard door at Little Cubs Day Nursery Honor Oak. Photo: supplied by Little Cubs Day Nursery Honor Oak

The poster describes the food bank as “supporting local families and our community” and lists four kinds of stock:

  • tinned food
  • store cupboard essentials
  • toiletries and household items
  • fresh food, when available

Its last line is the invitation to the rest of the street: “Together we can support our community.”

What was on the shelves on day one

The opening-day photograph shows five shelves already filled. On them are pasta, noodles, cup-a-soups, rice pouches and custard; breakfast cereals, long-life whole milk, tea and instant coffee; tinned beans, spaghetti hoops, tuna and peaches, breadsticks and crackers. A shelf of toiletries holds washing-up liquid, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, soap and sanitary towels, and the bottom shelf carries baby wipes, washing powder and two packs of nappies.

That last shelf is the giveaway that this is a nursery’s food bank: nappies and children’s toothpaste are among the things families with young children find hardest to stretch a budget around.

What it means for you

  • If you need something: the poster asks nothing of you beyond helping yourself. It gives the hours, 8am to 6pm, but not the days of the week, so if you are making a special trip it is worth checking with the nursery first.
  • If you want to give: “Give what you can” is the other half of the deal. The four categories on the poster, tinned food, store cupboard essentials, toiletries and household items, and fresh food, are the guide to what is useful.
  • Where: Little Cubs Day Nursery Honor Oak, Boveney Road. The nursery is part of Grandir UK, whose name appears on its logo.

If your school, club, church or group has started something similar in Lewisham borough, tell us about it and send the photos.