The Vineyard Care Centre exists to equip you with the tools and support you need to move towards living a more independent life, empowering you to fulfil your God given potential.
FEED: Emergency Food Bank
Jesus wasn’t daunted by the idea of feeding five thousand people on five loaves of bread and two fish. So we simply follow his lead and try to help every person who walks through our doors. Our understanding of the Bible is that God’s ears are turned towards those who are marginalised, and we are to partner with Him to support them.
The FEED food bank is now partnering with St Albans & District Foodbank.
Our emergency food bank FEED will continue to run at the Care Centre on Mondays, but we are now partnering with St Albans & District Foodbank (part of the Trussell Trust network). As a result, we will no longer be admitting guests to ‘shop’ for items at the Care Centre (as the shop is dedicated to BRIDGE members), but instead offer pre-packaged boxes of food to those individuals who meet Trussell’s criteria. FEED will continue to operate alongside the rest of the Care Centre ministries on a Monday.
How to Access
Everyone is welcome to come along to the Care Centre on a Monday morning 10am-12pm to join us for a free breakfast, use our services and meet our friendly team. If you want to specifically access the FEED emergency food bank, then please bring some ID with you and any other documentation you think useful. You can fill in a FEED Referral Form or contact our team beforehand, if you’d like to do so.
Mondays at the Care Centre
Everyone is welcome to visit the Care Centre on a Monday morning,10am-12pm, whether or not you are using the FEED food bank or are a BRIDGE member. Our Care Centre team are available for a chat and to offer support and advice to anyone who walks through our door. We usually host lots of services and events, but some of these have been stripped back or paused due to the current lockdown restrictions:
A welcoming morning café, serving food completely free of charge to anyone;
Live musicians and other exciting rooms you can join, like our Alpha sessions or creative workshops (currently paused);
Drop-in clinics will be available for anyone to access, as and when they need to:
Debt Management: Members of the team from Christians Against Poverty (CAP) are still here every Monday to provide free debt advice. Many people think the financial challenges they face are impossible to overcome, but there is hope, and CAP will help you to find the best solution.
Housing Advice: We can help connect you with St Albans City & District Council for free advice about how to access housing benefit or housing options around homelessness. We are currently running these over the phone/zoom; just ask a Care Centre team member for this support.
Family Lawyer: Local solicitors Duncan Lewis, who specialise in family and childcare related matters, are available to give free legal advice every third Monday of the month.
Family Support: Local Sopwell Family Centre are here once every last Monday of the month to offer family advice and support to anyone who would like it.
Mental Health: The last Monday of the month, Mind in Mid-Herts charity is at the Care Centre to provide prevention, recovery and support services that will help you to regain and retain control of your mental health.
KIT usually runs on a Monday but given current lockdown restrictions, is operating an appointment basis (please do contact the KIT Team to make one);
The Care Centre’s own Family & Parent Support sessions and play sessions will continue to run;
Prayer is available to anyone who asks - there’s nothing too big or small.
FEED Origins
The FEED food bank began in 2008, starting with members of the St Albans Vineyard Church gathering food and essential items to give away to wherever it was needed in the local community. FEED grew into a much needed and popular ministry, partnering with over a hundred local churches, schools, businesses, charities and organisations, to provide thousands of people within the district who are living in poverty, with food and essential items. Other Vineyard ministries grew alongside, like KIT and REFUEL, under the Care Centre umbrella.
