--- title: "Harvesting change: Can churches help build a food bank free future?" date: 2026-10-08T00:00:00+01:00 author: Laura Morton canonical_url: "https://cuf.org.uk/about-us/news/harvesting-change" section: News --- --- # Harvesting change: Can churches help build a food bank free future? Harvest services this month see churches gathering donations of food and other supplies, many of which will make their way to local food banks. --- - News - 08 Oct 2026 --- Gifts like these are desperately needed, as high living costs combined with low incomes continue to see millions of people across the UK experiencing food insecurity and struggling to afford essentials like rent and bills. **More than 2.5 million people belong to households that had used a food bank in the** [**past 12 months**](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9209/) **in 2024/25.** The compassion and commitment of food bank volunteers and staff, many of whom are motivated by their Christian faith, is incredible. Their willingness to offer practical help provides a lifeline to people facing severe hardship. ### Are foodbanks the solution? ![](https://cuf.org.uk/assets/images/_280x158_crop_center-center_82_none/foodbank-1.png?v=1791465464) But people on the food bank frontline are often the first to acknowledge that food banks are not the solution to hunger and hardship. The support that food banks provide isn’t – and cannot be – enough. Many people are not facing a one-off crisis but deep and persistent financial hardship: their incomes simply aren’t enough to cover the essentials. It isn’t right that food banks are needed in the first place. In a society like the UK, everyone should have enough money in their pockets to feed their family, keep a roof over their head and heat their home. Most people know that things are not as they should be. [Three quarters of UK adults](https://cms.trussell.org.uk/sites/default/files/wp-assets/manifesto_2024_exec_summary.pdf) agree that food banks should not be needed in the UK. Churches know it too. Indeed, it was often precisely because they recognised that the hunger showing up in local communities was part of a bigger set of problems in society that many churches chose to work with Trussell, rather than going it alone, when setting up their food banks. ![](https://cuf.org.uk/assets/images/_280x158_crop_center-center_82_none/St-Mary-Mags-group.png?v=1791465636) The [team at St Mary Mags](https://cuf.org.uk/about-us/news/action-and-theology) in Gorleston, diocese of Norwich, provides a holistic response to these wider issues through their Trussell foodbank: ​“Richard listens to people for a long time, and can then connect them to further support, so that we’re not just delivering crisis support. ### What do churches have that can make a difference to just society? Knowing how to respond to these challenges isn’t always easy. The biggest levers for change typically lie outside the reach of local churches as *institutions* – policy makers and business leaders are often the key decision makers. But perhaps the most impactful contribution local churches can make to building a more just, compassionate society is through the formation of the people that make them up. People who themselves shape communities, workplaces, families and even – [as in Andy Burnham’s case](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/01/andy-burnham-catholic-faith-shaping-way-governs) – governments. People who have become attuned to injustice through teaching, prayer and social action – and who have built friendships across socio-economic divides in church congregations – very often become people who act differently as a result. ## What can we do at Harvest? This Harvest, perhaps it is time to ask whether, alongside the much-needed food donations and practical support, churches have another gift to offer a society in which so many people are unable to afford the essentials. It’s a gift that was modelled repeatedly by Jesus as he taught his disciples and people he encountered from all walks of life: the gift of asking good questions. - What kind of society do we want to be? - How far do our responsibilities towards one another extend? - How do our workplaces protect the interests of lower paid workers? - Is it acceptable that so many people in our community are needing emergency food support? ![](https://cuf.org.uk/assets/images/_280x158_crop_center-center_82_none/foodbank-2.png?v=1791465720) These are questions on which Christian theology has much to say. They are also questions that we can learn a great deal from reflecting on in conversation with others – including people who have experience of financial hardship themselves. It isn’t that talking is enough, on its own, but rather that it is often in conversation that ideas are born, perspectives are challenged, and the seeds for action are sown. Harvest is a time of gratitude, but it is also a reminder that change is possible: in the natural world, in our own lives, and in our society too. A future where no one needs to use a food bank is within reach, but getting there will require us to expand our appetite for change. The donations that will be collected by churches this harvest are greatly valued and urgently needed, but we must also be willing to ask why so many people cannot afford the essentials – what needs to change, and what each of us can do to help build a food bank free future. ![](https://cuf.org.uk/assets/images/_280x158_crop_center-center_82_none/Heather-Buckingham.png?v=1791465392) *A Taste for Change: How to build a food bank free future* by Heather Buckingham was published by [Policy Press](https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/trade/a-taste-for-change) in September 2026. Heather is Social Change Advisor at Trussell and was previously Director of Research and Policy at Church Urban Fund. Discussion resources based on the book are available [here](https://www.trussell.org.uk/our-work/ending-the-need-for-food-banks/a-taste-for-change). ## Harvest stories of hope, and resources - ![](https://cuf.org.uk/assets/images/_528x297_crop_center-center_82_none/Four-Oaks-Methodist-Church-NB4U.jpg?v=1786455164) ### [Harvest Resources](https://cuf.org.uk/support-us/support-our-fundraising-harvest-appeal/harvest-resources) - ![](https://cuf.org.uk/assets/images/_528x297_crop_center-center_82_none/Harvest-2026-Homepage-604x340px.jpg?v=1786444768) ### [Support our fundraising Harvest appeal](https://cuf.org.uk/support-us/support-our-fundraising-harvest-appeal)