The food bank in the garden 

Words: Maddie Dinnage 

Heralded by her local community, 65-year-old Henrietta is tackling Southwark’s food insecurity with her DIY food bank

When I found Henrietta Onyema, she was wrestling with two shopping trolleys, piled high with crates of food, strapped down with bungee cords. We were a five-minute walk from Bermondsey tube station, where Henrietta sets up her food bank. “Sometimes we have seven or eight of these trolleys”, she says, graciously passing me the lighter of the two, and we set off on the same, winding route that she has taken three times a week for the past two years. 

We parked up just outside the entrance of the tube station, and Henretta wasted no time before dismantling her tower of produce. “I’m already a bit behind today,” she says, her arms laden with parsnips. Together we organised the food on a row of tables, slotting crates of brussels sprouts and carrots alongside bags of potatoes and jars of cooking sauce.  

Her organisation process was meticulous. Breads on one end, sorted into baguettes and loaves. Then, a small assortment of pastries, followed by pantry items: a pyramid of tins and jars. Finally, the veggies: still perfectly wholesome, ready to be roasted or boiled, then blitzed into soups. She could only be stopped by the occasional “hi auntie!” or a “how are you doing today, Henrietta?” from locals passing by – all of which she knew by name.  

The 65-year-old from Bermondsey started her own food bank two years ago after the food bank held at her local church had to close. As a volunteer, Henrietta recognised a need for support amongst her community and took it upon herself to provide free food for anyone who needs it, no questions asked. 

“I went shopping one day, and they had all this bread. Normally it would be, like £1.29… they were selling it for 5p,” she says. “So, I said, you know what? I am buying all this bread.” She left the loaves outside her house, free for anybody to take: “Before I know it, the bread is gone,” she says, “that’s how I started”. 

Initially, Henrietta paid for all the food herself, frequenting the reduced section in her local supermarket for anything with a yellow sticker. However, her generosity soon caught the attention of BBC news, leading to a feature which garnered greater visibility and support for her cause. Now, she regularly receives donations from local community members, so much so that Southwark Council spent £1000 to install storage containers outside her house.  

“My house was so full of food, I could not sit in my front room for 18 months,” she says. 

Despite Henrietta’s reputation as a local hero, some of her neighbours took issue with the location of the containers. She was later warned by a council officer that she would need to remove the boxes. Having invested a great deal of time and effort in her local community, both as founder of the food bank and as foster carer to 89 children, she was left feeling disillusioned by the sudden lack of support from her local council.  

“Within a day they changed their mind,” she says, as backlash from the local community prompted an apology from Southwark Council, in which they regretted any confusion they had caused. However, for the woman doing all she can to improve her corner of the world, the ordeal caused a great deal of disruption: “It was a lot of stress, unnecessary stress”.  

As the UK faces historically drastic levels of food insecurity, it is the kindness of people like Henrietta which provides a lifeline for those who are struggling unseen. Ever-rising food and living costs mean that between 1 April and 30 September 2024 alone, 1.4 million emergency food packages were distributed to those in need across the UK, a 69% increase in comparison to the same timeframe in 2019. And, as nearly a quarter of Londoners live in poverty, the capital serves as an epicentre of nation-wide food insecurity.  

For residents of Southwark, these issues are particularly prevalent, as an estimated 23.5% of residents struggle to afford food, or are seriously worried about how they’ll pay for food. This is 2.5% higher than the London average. 

Which is why, for three days a week, Henrietta and her growing network of volunteers spend upwards of eight hours a day outside Bermondsey station, poised to serve anyone in need, ranging from the 9 to 5 commuters to the night shift workers.  

At the centre of it all are Henrietta’s two grounding philosophies. The first: anyone is welcome, no questions asked. The second, (nothing goes to waste) I was fortunate enough to see in action. One gentleman watched wide-eyed as she crammed his backpack fit-to-bursting with carrots. “Take more! You can freeze them!” she said, chuckling. 

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Featured image via FreePik