The late One Direction singer Liam Payne volunteering at the food bank in Euston during the Covid crisis

ONE of the most successful food banks in the country could be under threat of closure after trustees warned it is facing an increasingly uncertain financial future.

Euston Foodbank in Phoenix Road supports more than 400 households a week in Camden.

But in a letter seen by the New Journal, interim chair of trustees Reverend Jonathan Lee told volunteers that the food bank was struggling.

He wrote: “I need to be straightforward in telling you that Euston Foodbank is facing a very uncertain future.

“Although we have had many generous donations in the past to bring the foodbank this far, raising money is now significantly more difficult and the cost of the food we buy to distribute has increased and continues to increase.

“The trustees remain committed to finding a sustainable future if at all possible because there are so many people who, for a whole variety of reasons, face difficulty in feeding themselves and their dependents.”

Reverend Lee detailed the measures required to “avoid closure”, including limiting food provision unless to those in the most urgent need.

The letter said the food bank would stop issuing vouchers, and that people arriving without vouchers would no longer be able to collect food parcels.

“None of this is easy, but we cannot afford to continue operating as we have been,” he added.

The New Journal understands that issues emerged last year after the food bank commissioned a review of operations during which it was closed for three weeks.

Since then there has been a mass exodus of trustees, while the charity has limited the amount of local food it redistributes.

Dorothea Hackman, who founded Euston Foodbank and was until last November its chair of trustees, said: “It’s difficult to know whether it can rise like a phoenix from its ashes but there is nothing to say that it won’t.

“The food bank stopped collecting local food and of course you can’t keep buying food. That has resulted in quite a dramatic reduction in what can be done.”

Ms Hackman said that since she stepped down as a trustee, after completing her term in office, Food For All – a charity that provides 5,000 hot meals a day to homeless people and shares the Phoenix Road site – has been looking after the majority of clients who had been relying on the food bank.

She added: “You can’t have that many people coming to a physical building desperate for food and there not being enough there for them.

“The Trussell Trust [a national food charity that supports the independent Euston Foodbank] used to say we were their star food bank in London, the third biggest in the country.

“It distresses me if I think about it. You work incredibly hard to bring something to life, only for it to be allowed to crash.”

Founded by Ms Hackman in 2017, Euston Foodbank served 3,000 clients in its first year.

By the end of last year, that figure had risen to 60,000 annually.

Peter O’Grady, founder of Food For All UK, said: “We would be happy if the food bank got organised and tackled their problems. Nobody knows what is going to happen. If it closes down, it could well be that we have to move too.

“The food bank is a beautiful place that gives people dignity.”

The former St Aloysius Primary School site closed in 2019 and in 2022, the food bank moved into the potentially lucrative Phoenix Road premises after a lease was signed between organisers and the Diocese of Westminster.

Revd Jonathan Lee, chair of trustees at Euston Foodbank, said: “Our trustees commissioned a review of operations, which led to the food bank temporarily closing for three weeks. This was undertaken to ensure we had objective advice about the way we run.

“We continue to distribute emergency food parcels to people facing hunger and hardship, but on a smaller scale to ensure we have the resources to provide support to everyone who needs it.

“All changes have been made to ensure we can continue to provide support to people across Euston while we work towards a future where no one needs to turn to a food bank to get by.

“Working together with Trussell and local volunteers, there is a bright future for Euston Foodbank.”

Lynda Battarbee, director of operations at Trussell, said: “Euston remains one of our busiest food banks, serving thousands of people across the community.

“Trussell supported Euston Foodbank’s decision to review its services to ensure that there’s the best possible provision. Trussell is committed to working alongside our food banks and local partners to end the need for food banks for good.”