RFF AGM and Public Forum – ‘Fighting Poverty in Ilford’ 9 July 2025
Redbridge Faith Forum and Annual General Meeting & Appointment of the Trustees followed by an Open Forum on “Fighting Poverty in Ilford”
9th July 2025, at Methodist Church, 58A Ilford Lane, Ilford IG1 2JZ
Redbridge Faith Forum (RFF) - AGM and Open Forum Meeting.
RFF held its Annual General Meeting at the Methodist Church in Ilford lane this evening. Attended by around 70 supporters and members, the Annual Report was submitted by the Chair, Mohamed Omar MBE who highlighted a number of the highlights of the work of RFF during the preceding year. Among these were the Annual Walk of Peace, now in its 15th Year where, led by the Mayor, visited various Faith Venues hearing about this year's topic, 'Kindness, Faith in Action'. He then explained about how we celebrated 20 years of RFF and also the tours arranged to places of worship. All of these events are centred on the main aspects of RFF which are Respect, Cooperation and Understanding. The accounts for the year were submitted and all trustees who had agreed to stand were elected for the coming year. Mohamed also thanked all those volunteers who had supported RFF during the year and in particular Saira Yakub who had diligently kept the RFF office running so smoothly.
Following some beautifully prepared food and refreshments, we moved to the open forum which this year was centred on 'Fighting Poverty in Ilford'. There were a number of presentations which formed the basis of the following discussion. We are grateful to Charlene Butler from Redbridge Food Bank, Alvaro Adair of the Ilford Community Grocery, Angela Beyer from the Welcome Centre, Raja from the Albert Road Mosque Food Bank and George Gaillet, the Redbridge Citizens Organiser. We also received a wonderful input form the Malachi Project who unfortunately were unable to attend.
After the presentations the assembly broke into smaller groups to discuss what was happening in the local Faith Groups which was aimed at Fighting Poverty in Ilford and then focussing on what the real priorities are. This output was then shared and will be the starting point for work on this most important area.
| Which 3 actions below do you think would make most difference to poverty in Ilford? |
Top 3 priorities
- Invest in Skills Training
- Affordable housing
- Strengthen support to families
Table 1
Financial literacy
Skills training
Strengthen support to families
Table 2
Mental Health Support
Affordable housing
Invest in skills
Table 3
Invest in skills training
Grow& buy healthy food
Strengthen support to families/sports activities
Table 4
Skills training – also life skills
More affordable housing
Affordable childcare
Table 5
Invest in skills
Improve education attainment
Family planning
Table 6
Mental health support
Increase wages/reduce costs
Strengthen support for families
Table 7
Invest in skills & Training (include cooking, ESOL)
Affordable housing
Increase wages/decrease cost
Table 8
Mental health
Debt Advise
Family Strengthening
What does your faith community/ organisation do to respond to poverty in Ilford?
- Friday night café
- Occasional help at Waltham Forest Night Shelter
- Serving Humanity – charitable organisation
- Offer space to run the food bank
- High Road, Baptist Church – Welcome Centre Healthy Living Project
- Food Bank
- Zakat – cash contribution
- Food bank (Gants Hill)
- Hot Meals at the Temple
- Clothes collection
- Teach English and Maths
- Seeking Work – Assistance
- SWAI – feed the homeless and give out good clean clothes twice a week. Gurdwara – langar. Health – Sikh running club.
- School food bank
- The “Belonging” charity meets once a month at St Cedd’s RC Church. A meal is provided to all comers (mostly homeless) free of charge so no money changes hands. People who live alone are also made very welcome.
- “Belonging” – once a month provides a 3 course hot meal and companionship for anyone who needs it.
- Small group – once a month hot food. Anyone can join not necessarily homeless. Give clothes. Donate food banks. Meditation.
- Church lunch about once a month on a Saturday (all invited)
- Sukkot – which is specifically for helping the homeless lunch club. Sukkat Shalom – a food collection at synagogue. A lot of synagogues who have facilities make Friday night meals and deliver to the elderly in the community. We have volunteers who ring the community to see people’s position.
- SEVA – organisation providing support to homeless / rough sleepers
- Monday Sikhs distribute food to hundreds of poor people
- Redbridge Food Partnership
- Collect food and then distribute (Sikh community). Work – distribute to elders who live on their own
- Sikhs help poor for food, shelter, domestic violence
- Our Garden club helps people in poverty
- Assistance with funeral cost
- EKTA – women’s organisation in Newham and Ilford
- Redbridge Food Partnership
- Vine Church as Venue for asylum seekers, perfect Mix
- Free food, community service outreach, working from within to change
- A group we belong to we encourage people to play board games to be social
- Do not accumulate more than what you can consume
- Ilford Hindu Centre – hot meals to needy
- Ilford Hindu Centre – Sunday evening hot meal to all
- Ilford Hindu Centre –offering dry food items at very subsidised rates
- People take fruit, oil, flour, etc. to Temple which is distributed. Hindus feel a little hesitant to talk about poverty. Will take if given. Subsidised food can be distributed.
- Contribute toward food banks
- Organisation offers food and companionship though the day for all ages
- St Luke’s church – Gardening club
- Coffee morning on Saturday at St Lukes – no charge
- LBR Benefits – take up campaigns for unclaimed benefits, local and national support schemes
- Food Bank Engagement Hub on Ilford Lane
- FIND – Find drop-in service supporting parents, making parents aware of the free childcare choices, helping parents ack to work, disadvantaged families, supporting parents to sign up to NHS Healthy Start Programme = £4.20 per week for Children under 5 Years
- City Gates Food Bank, Salvation Army Drop in coffee morning
- Sikh Temple offers food all day long every day, Hindu Temples sometimes have boxes when food can be left is collected by homeless charities
- LBR Benefits – Outreach offer for income maximisation, carry intervention and prevention using data analytics, Discretionary awards for rent council tax, household support fund, Debt and Money Management Employment Officer, Referrals to TCL Furniture, Baby Bank, Food Bank, Ilford Community Grocery
- Helping seniors learn to use phones and tablets
The meeting was closed by our Chairman and all were thanked for both their attendance and their input.
Free Food in Redbridge Barking
Food & Clothing Bank in Redbridge
Reflection from Revd. Mmasape Thathane-Tyolweni
"Tonight, I watched faith do what it does best, make room.
At the Annual General Meeting of the Redbridge Faith Forum, we moved through business with grace and intention, then leaned into what truly matters.
Around the room were representatives of different religions, different languages, different dreams yet one shared hunger: justice.
In just two minutes each, voices rose:
The Foodbank, Community Cupboard, The Malachi Project, Rahman Foodbank and Citizens. Not speaking theory, but daily bread. Not casting stones, but casting vision. And then something beautiful happened. Strangers sat at round tables, not to debate doctrine or defend dogma, but to listen deeply. To witness one another’s work. To name the wounds of this city. To dream healing into being. We spoke of poverty not only as a statistic, but as a neighbour. We spoke of homes that cost too much, wages that stretch too thin, families gasping for support, and seeds that could become gardens of hope.
Faith, tonight, was not a sermon. It was a circle. A conversation. A commitment.
And I left with a quiet assurance: that the sacred is not just found in holy books or rituals, but in the courage to gather, the willingness to listen, and the resolve to act together."
We live in a wonderful London Borough with lots of parks and green spaces, good transport links, an excellent education service, and a cohesive multi-cultural community. But all is not what it seems on the surface! In Redbridge, a significant portion of residents, including one in four adults and one in three children, live in poverty. The borough faces challenges with income deprivation and pay inequality; a substantial number of residents earn below the Living Wage, according to Redbridge Council. Redbridge also experiences higher rates of homelessness and households in temporary accommodation compared to the London average. Cuts to local Government by Central Government, the worsening of the economic situation resulting in job losses, the increased cost of living, and cuts to benefits, are all impacting on the daily lives of residents.
How can we respond to this crisis? What actions can we take to help those in need and make a positive change? What is already in place? Can we join together as a community to give assistance and provide much needed support? How are faith and other groups responding to poverty?
We can’t prevent what is happening nationally, but we can ensure that by consulting and working together we can find ways of improving the lives of the Redbridge residents who need it.