“The Hackney Half Marathon is a very special event. It seems to get bigger and bigger every year. It’s just buzzing, and the community really come out and support, so for us to have a presence at the event, and to be very visible there is really important too,” says Jenna Fansa, Head of Communications and Fundraising at Hackney Foodbank.
In 2024 the charity had 15 places and in 2025 this grew to a team of 40 runners! As a small charity, investing in places is a commitment and they have to be careful to balance the risks. But the event is a great fit for them. Their warehouse is just up the road from the start line and they set up a big cheer point just outside. They even managed to raise £1K in donations from people using the warehouse toilets!
So far they’ve raised £16,000 in 2025 with more donations expected, but Jenna says, “it’s not just about the sponsorship we raise, it’s about being seen, either for people who want to give to us, which is always lovely, but also it’s about reducing the stigma for anybody who might need to use a food bank, and letting people know that we’re… we’re there in the community ready to help them if they need us.”
The 2025 team included a couple of the food bank volunteers, some local mums, a group from DTZ Investors and from Five Points Brewery, who even brewed a special beer to commemorate the day.
For 2026 Hackney Foodbank has committed to becoming a Bronze Event Partner with 80 places taking the risk on growth to meet the rising demand for their services. “We’re currently feeding 800 people every week. That’s 20% up on last year and it just keeps growing and growing and growing,” says Jenna.
Jenna and the team keep innovating and have had brilliant success with their corporate volunteering programme – Supermarket Sweep. Volunteers from the corporate sector race to shop for the food bank’s most needed items. It can get very competitive with up to 70 people at each session. And some volunteers also go on to join the team of Hackney Half runners.
After working for many years as a journalist in the regional press and then in PR, Jenna left comms for ten years to set up a local buyers club to support the shop local movement in Hackney. She first came across Hackney Foodbank as part of the buyers club’s annual toy drive.
Jenna says, “I hope that we won’t be needed. That’s my big hope for the future. I hope that people don’t need to come to a food bank and that things are fairer for our community.”
We’re proud to have partnered with Hackney Foodbank to have placed an interim CEO with them in 2020 during a critical period in the pandemic and then their current CEO in 2021. It’s brilliant to see them go from strength to strength to be there for the local community in Hackney.
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