News

Profile piece, Ben Hancock

22nd January 2025

In our first newsletter of 2025, we are shining a light on someone who has recently joined us, but has very quickly become an integral part of our warehouse operations and a valued member of the Foodbank team. This month, we speak to Ben Hancock, our Warehouse and Logistics Coordinator, who ensures that the flow of food in and out of our food bank is running smoothly at all times.

Read on to find out about Ben, his time at the Foodbank so far, and what we likes to do in his spare time!

Can you tell us about yourself?

I’ve worked in warehouses for quite a few years now. I started off working at Marshalls and then moved to C3 Church in 2019. I started off as an apprentice in Warehouse Logistics, but eventually became Warehouse Logistics Lead for all three of C3’s sites in Cambridge, Bury St. Edmunds and Colchester, essentially managing all food, stock and storage solutions.

When did you join the Foodbank, and what is your role?

When I saw that the Foodbank was hiring for a position, I knew it was a really exciting opportunity. It’s a role that I was familiar with, and I knew I’d be a great fit. After applying for the role of Warehouse and Logistics Coordinator, I was really happy to join the team in October last year.

The role varies and depend on what’s needed at the time. My day can be spent on vehicle maintenance, coordinating with the warehouse teams so that volunteers can handover and pick up tasks effectively, and speaking to our Welcome Centers and Fairbite Food Clubs to ensure that they have enough stock. We also have two warehouses to manage which I’m responsible for. One, which is where our volunteers will sort and pack donations, and the other that is used as an overflow space so that we can keep items in reserve to manage our spaces better.

How have you found working at the Foodbank so far?

I’ve loved it – the volunteers have been great and really welcoming! It’s been interesting to talk to everyone, staff and volunteers, and learn about the reasons why they do what they do. I’ve really enjoyed working with a team that are happy to put everything into what they do. A good example of this is that we recently sent a call out to volunteers for support in one of our Welcome Centres because it was so busy. We were inundated with responses of volunteers signing up to help to the point we had too many.

December is historically the busiest month for the Foodbank. Can you tell us what that looked like in the warehouse?

The Tesco collections we held at the end of November, and the general spirit of giving around Christmas time and December was great for our stock levels, but it did mean that space was harder to find in the warehouse which makes it a bit more challenging.

As it was my first Christmas at the Foodbank, I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into, even though I knew things would be busier. I think the increased hustle and bustle that helped me settle into it quite well. The main thing is, the food we received carried us through December and meant that we could provide for all of our visitors.

How are the stock levels in the warehouse currently?

Typically, we see a drop in donations that we receive post-Christmas because less organisations donate and the spirit of giving isn’t in people’s minds as much. As I write this, we’ve got food supplies but that is because we are only in January and things can change fast. My message to everyone reading is to keep giving your support whenever you can. The need for our support doesn’t change, but our stock does and the more we have, the more people we can support.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not with the Foodbank?

I’m really enjoying my downtime, so my Xbox has got quite a bit of use recently! I love getting stuck into an immersive story through games like Red Dead Redemption. Aside from that, I’m also currently planning my wedding, which feels a bit surreal, so it does make having spare time a bit more of a challenge.

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