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About Us

Our Story: Moving Beyond Crisis

Weston Ark was born from a simple realization: Feeding people is vital, but it isn’t enough.

In early 2024, a group of long-term supporters of the Weston-super-Mare Foodbank came together with a new vision. We saw that while emergency food parcels keep people alive, they don't solve the underlying storms of poverty, debt, and isolation. We wanted to build a place where people could find a path from crisis back to wholeness.

 

In April 2025, we purchased the Hughenden Centre (formerly the Vintage Church Hall) in Hughenden Road to make that vision a reality. Today, we are proud to be the permanent home of the Weston Foodbank, while rapidly developing a new Community Hub designed to offer "wrap-around" support for everyone in our town.

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What We Are Here For

Weston Ark was established with a specific dual purpose:

  1. Providing Advice & Support: To offer training and support for families and individuals living on low household incomes.

  2. Christian Witness: To enable ongoing Christian witness from the former church building.

 

Our desire is to work with partner organisations to reduce benefit dependency and the need for crisis interventions. We seek to offer solutions that reduce the need for emergency food and prevent people from falling back into dependence.

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Our Mission: "Shalom" for Weston

We are driven by the ancient Hebrew concept of Shalom. It is often translated as "peace," but it means much more: wholeness, well-being, justice, and restoration.

 

Our goal is not just to patch up problems, but to help our neighbours rebuild their lives. We do this through three core pillars:

  • Relief: Hosting the Weston Foodbank (Open Now).

  • Community: Building the Ark Café, a "third place" where friendship and dignity come first (Opening Early 2026).

  • Support: Providing practical tools like money guidance, debt signposting, and life skills training.

 

Our Faith & Values

Weston Ark is a Christian charity. Our faith is the fuel for what we do, but it is not a fence that keeps people out.

  • We are Open to All: Whether you have a faith or none, you are welcome here. We welcome partnering with people of all backgrounds who seek to challenge the impact of poverty in our community.

  • We are Relational: We believe poverty is often rooted in a lack of support networks. We exist to be that network.

  • We are Professional: We value excellence in our governance, safety, and systems because the people we serve deserve the best.

 

The Team

We are a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) led by a Board of Trustees with extensive private sector and non-profit business experience, including working with disadvantaged groups at a national and local level.

 

The Board of Trustees:

  • Clive Bodley (Chair)

  • Mary Jeremy

  • Paul Salmons

  • Emma Wotton

  • Diana Thomas

 

Operational Leads:

  • Centre Manager: Matt Luft

  • Café Team Leader: Stacey Jones (volunteer)

  • Systems & Technology: George Bradley (volunteer)

 

Find out more about the Weston Ark Team here: Meet the Team​
 

Our Partners

We know we can't do this alone. We are proud to partner with:

  • Weston-super-Mare Foodbank (Our Anchor Tenant)

  • Asda Foundation, & Quartet Community Foundation (Our generous funders)

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Contact Us

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