‘Deep and extreme concern’ over management of Tottenham foodbank

Haringey community groups were denied their regular supplies from Selby Food Hub and left having to turn tens of foodbank users away, reports Olivia Opara

Multiple community groups across Haringey have been left without regular food supplies after being turned away from Selby Food Hub.

Last month, 29 community groups were turned away from Selby Food Hub and told that they would no longer be supplied with food that they use to support their service users and beneficiaries across Haringey and Enfield – leaving the organisations with a “huge wave of disappointment” and a “deep and extreme concern”. Five volunteers at Selby Food Hub later resigned over this decision which was made by the trust’s new management.

A supplier for the foodbank, Food Bank Aid, has also withdrawn, with chair Naomi Russell stating: “We don’t know why [The Selby Centre] has stopped supplying the community groups and I am very concerned about the Selby Food Hub – it should have other resources for food.

“I have written a letter to the CEO and the Chair of Trustees of the Centre, telling them to sort things out.”

The Selby Trust, which runs the hub, has said it “continues to support families in our community” but, due to increased demand from local residents, “our donors’ expectations are that we are supplying directly to families”.

In a co-signed open letter to the Selby trustees sent on 11th April, the community groups responded: “We have suffered in the last couple of weeks as a result of the harsh and inhuman decision of the Selby Trust management not to provide us with the food supply that [had previously] met the needs of people in our group.”

The community groups also said that it is “a great shame” to lose this service which had supported them in providing essential items to people most in need across the borough. The Selby Food Hub acted as an intermediary between food suppliers and the community groups.

The community organisations have expressed concern about how long they can keep supporting users through the cost-of-living crisis. Calvary Church, which provided a hot meal foodbank for the homeless, told HCP: “Our remaining food supplies are coming to an end and the issues with Selby are quite critical.

“Three people came knocking on our door this week and we could not just turn them away – so we found some things [from what is left of our food supply] to give to them.”

Based on Northumberland Park Road, the church’s foodbank ran fortnightly – providing more than 80 people on average with food each week. Alongside this, the church also gave out non-cookable food and produce to those with no access to a proper kitchen, but since being turned away from Selby Food Hub, the church has now had to restrict their offerings to two to three items per person.

“[The cost-of-living crisis] is affecting everybody – some of our church members even take [food] for those they know who are struggling.”

Women With a Voice (WWAV), a Tottenham community group that supports victims of domestic abuse and violence, has also been affected. Founder Natasha Johnson told HCP that the women she supports cannot afford to go all the way to the Selby Centre for food – with it being unsafe for some to do so.Like Calvary Church, WWAV has had to reduce the amount of food it gives out – its users dropping from 50 women and families a week to just 15.

Natasha said: “Women are turning up and there is no food that we can provide for them.”

“[The Selby Centre] has let down the community – we are disappointed because they have let down vulnerable women and children.”

WWAV is now looking to start a campaign to raise funds for food as things are “getting really bad”.

On 4th April, long-term volunteers of the food hub wrote a letter to the Selby trustees about their resignation. In their letter, the volunteers describe how the Selby Centre’s management “had not constructively engaged” with the food hub and how its “effective working system has been damaged rather than enhanced”.

Speaking to HCP about their experience, one volunteer said: “What got lost and made us decide that we could not do this anymore was the loss of trust and we could not see how things could change without making an appeal to the trustees.”

In their letter, the volunteers continued: “It appears that the Selby Food Hub is no longer a community-led initiative but merely a topdown management operation that is often, if not pretty much always, out of touch and deprived of a sense of professionalism.

“We refuse to work in an environment where our dignity and feelings are disrespected, where our knowledge and expertise are dismissed and where our hard work and dedication is now completely ignored.”

In a statement, Ed Ihejirika, chair of Selby Trust, said: “The Selby Food Hub, which was established at the start of the pandemic in 2020, continues to support families in our community through the costof-living crisis in 2023 at the Selby Centre in Tottenham.

“Over the last three years, thousands from across Tottenham, Edmonton and beyond have been supported by the Selby Food Hub and wrap-around support.

“We’re serving on average 300–350 families per week, at a time where food poverty is a very serious issue for those who need the service.

“Our community engagement manager supports and oversees the provision of employment advisory support for those who visit the food hub, and free half-term school holiday clubs with Selby Active providing enrichment and sporting activities.

“We are committed to running the Selby Food Hub twice a week, however, there has been an increase in demand for support from local families, which we need to prioritise — our donors’ expectations are that
we are supplying directly to families.

“Our food hub also continues to operate as a safe space for those experiencing domestic abuse, as part of the coordinated community response to violence against women and girls.

“We are continuing to work with local organisations to provide support and meet the needs of the community.”

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