Waterloo Foodbank Heroes: Jac and Gill

Jac and Gill are the legends of Waterloo Foodbank. Twin sisters from the local area, every day without fail, at least one of them visits the Oasis Centre with donations. Come rain or shine, they are there with their shopping trolley full of food, so desperately needed to keep our foodbank going.

Recently, we sat down with them both to find out more about their story.

What is your background?

“We were born and raised in the area, in a hospital that has now been knocked down. I (Gill) was a housekeeper at Guy’s hospital and I (Jac) was a housekeeper and seamstress at Park Plaza Hotel. Everything’s changed since then, kids growing up around here today have a completely different experience.

We used to say hello to everyone on the street but now we get no response, it’s sad. We used to leave our door open all the time but would never dream of doing it now.”

Why do you donate?

“We started donating just before the pandemic. We used to walk past every morning on the way to work and was always intrigued by the sign. One day we came in, had a coffee and now we do that every day!

When we were younger, foodbanks didn’t exist. We were in a position where we definitely would have needed to use one, but instead we relied on the kindness of neighbours. Back then, we were sharing a loaf of bread between us just to get by.

Because we have been so close to the breadline and just trying to make ends meet we want to give back. We are in the position now that we can so it’s nice to be helping families.”

How do you feel about food banks?

“Too many people rely on food banks and they shouldn’t have to use them, but they are a God send. The Oasis Centre is so important, it provides a community and space for people. It’s nice for the users of the foodbank, they have somewhere to come and be looked after, receive advice.

We’ve met so many people here, if you’re part of the Oasis community you speak to each, look out for each other.”

Any final reflections?

“We give all that we can, if we had more, we would do more”.

Back to News