Brighton's LGBTQ+ food bank turns two and is looking for more volunteers

The Village Food Bank^1,2,3,4, a food bank for low-income LGBTQ+ people in Brighton and Hove, held its first session in November 2024. Two years on, it runs two sessions a month at the Brighthelm Centre on North Road and supports between 35 and 55 households each time. It wants more volunteers.

Reuben Davidson started it after seeing the problem in his work as a social prescriber: LGBTQ+ people he referred to food banks often found them unwelcoming, or full. In the food bank’s own survey, 51% of the clients who answered said they were not confident using food banks in the city that aren’t LGBTQ+ specific. Among their reasons were fear of being misgendered, fear of homophobia, and discomfort in the religious buildings where many food banks are based.

How it works

It is set up like a small shop. People pick what they want from market tables instead of taking a pre-packed box, and a volunteer “personal shopper” can help. There are cupboard essentials, frozen food, fresh produce saved from landfill, toiletries, cleaning products, allergen-free food, ready meals and pet food. A community table has free hot drinks and snacks, and advice services such as Citizens Advice, Switchboard and Age UK have come along to sessions.

Its first annual report, covering November 2024 to December 2025, counts 22 sessions, 561 shops and 176 registered clients. Attendance grew from 11 people at the first session to 42 in December 2025. More than 30 people volunteered, and many of them use the food bank too.

“Volunteering here is like being with family,” one volunteer, a lesbian woman who first came as a service user, said in the report. “Most of the volunteer team are also users of the food bank, so there’s not this ‘us and them’ attitude.”

The food bank took in about £28,000 in that time, over half of it from a National Lottery grant, and spent about £8,850. Close to half of the spending went on stock. It says it would like to move to a bigger venue with its own storage and freezers, pay a member of staff and run more sessions, and it lists building its volunteer base as one of its goals.

How to help

Volunteers can help run sessions, fundraise through events or local groups, help with grant applications, or use a car to collect donations. Email thevillagefoodbank@gmail.com.

Food and toiletries can go to drop-off points at the Brighthelm Centre, the Ledward Centre, Community Base, the Actors pub and North Laine Brewhouse. Items need to be unopened, shelf-stable and in date. Money can be given through Donorbox and pays for storage, venue hire and specific items such as allergen-free food.