Festive Food & Fun in Finchley

On the 12th December 2023 a team of artsdepot volunteers dropped off 80 festive food parcels at Finchley Food Bank - each containing a voucher offering up to 4 free tickets and profiling seasonal shows - and an array of festive goodies recommended by the food bank. The parcels included mixed nuts, honey, hot chocolate powder, celebration chocolates, chocolate spread, biscuits, dried fruit, crackers, cordial, herbal teas and chocolate and snack bars.  

'The parcels were very well received  A REALLY BIG THANK YOU TIM AND TEAM, for the fantastic Christmas bags delivered today!
We will share half tomorrow and the other half on Tuesday at our newest session. Can't wait to see all the delighted faces!
We can see the organising time and bag packing effort that has gone into producing the bags. THANK YOU AGAIN!
All the best,
Anna Maughan
Foodbank co-ordinator
Finchley Foodbank' 

Our staff provided really positive feedback saying they felt proud to work for artsdepot and pleased to be supporting the community during a cost of living crisis. 

We did however underestimate the challenges these families faced and there was little take up of tickets (8 tickets claimed by two families, 4 each) - we assume because the other associated costs with attendance and perhaps theatre trips aren't a familiar activity for the vulnerable groups the Food Bank supports. Remaining funds have been transferred to our Access Fund which provides subsidised or free tickets via charities including Rays of Sunshine, Homestart Barnet, Solace Women’s Aid, Barnet Foster Carers etc.  

Additionally we fundraised to provide 5 free places on our Inclusive Summer Camp for children eligible for free school meals. These have been allocated through an open callout - those participants would never have had that opportunity otherwise with paid for places costing £445 - for 11 days performing arts tutoring resulting in a highly professional production of High School Musical on the 26th August 2023. All participants will receive a free daily cooked lunch equivalent to school dinner standards. 

Learning from our first campaign has informed our planning for 2023/24 when we will work with local organisations who have a pattern of supporting group visits to artsdepot by families who would be unlikely to attend otherwise.