Who’s who – Trustees

Phil Coysh (Chair of Trustees)

Phil was until recently Area Manager for the Trussell Trust for Gloucestershire, Bristol and North Somerset. Prior to starting work with the Trussell Trust in 2014 he spent a career in banking and finance. Phil is passionate about justice for the poor, both in the UK and overseas, and is committed to seeing churches in particular working together in social action and for social justice. Phil is also a local church leader and leads Ignition, a Stroud based Christian events charity.

Sophia Acland

Sophia Acland is Associate Priest of two churches in Gloucestershire and was a volunteer at the Dursley foodbank drop-in centre for several years before becoming a Trustee. She also works part-time in a church in London and has links with the local foodbank there, including helping co-ordinate an employability project for foodbank clients.

Brian Chapman (Treasurer)

After retiring from my finance work in technology companies I wanted to get actively involved with helping in the local community and I was very pleased

when my request to volunteer in the warehouse was accepted in 2022. My involvement was then expanded to become Treasurer where my accountancy background is put directly to use.

SDF exists to help people who are having a particularly difficult time and I have been impressed by the professionalism and commitment of the staff and volunteers who do their utmost to meet their needs. I will try my best to contribute to their success.

Dr Pippa Medcalf FRCP MBE

“I have been a trustee at SDFB for about 2 years whilst also being being a volunteer there  for several years.
By day, I am a consultant physician at Gloucestershire Royal Hospitals looking after acute medical emergencies, most recently spending a year on the Covid front line. It was in this role, in 2013, that I developed a passion for helping the homeless in hospital and am now part of a national group fighting health inequalities.
I also joined Marah as a volunteer 13 years ago and help with the Saturday lunches there.
I have a strong Christian faith and find God uses me in a practical way to show his love through tackling the injustices of homelessness, food poverty and hunger.
SDFB is an amazing organisation and I am so proud to be a small part of it.”

Pippa Dickinson

I have a background in project management and data, primarily for the public sector.  I became a trustee in spring 2020,  soon after lockdown started when demand for the foodbank soared. I find the inequalities in our society, and indeed across the world, very troubling, and hope, through working with the foodbank, to be able to do something to help. I am inspired by the Trussell Trust’s strategic aim of achieving a society where foodbanks are no longer needed and would love to be part of moving our society closer to this vision.

I live in Painswick where I am an active member of St Mary’s church and help to organise monthly village collections for the foodbank. It is lovely to see how much people care for others in crisis.

Alastair Kendall MBA

I joined the Wotton hub delivery team during the pandemic along with my wife who is also a volunteer. Following my retirement last year, I also joined the Tuesday morning warehouse team.

Lawrence Miller

My career was in the social housing sector, working at the interface between housing, care and support services, in both operational and consultancy roles. I also worked for a charity
that provides care to older people, and a disability charity, again focussing on the connections with housing and the built environment.
After retiring in 2020 I volunteered with Fareshare in Bristol and was then invited to become a Trustee of the Stroud foodbank. I was keen to volunteer in the warehouse to understand
how the organisation works and what the needs are, to inform my role as a Trustee. I attend Holy Trinity Church in Stroud and I’m part of the lay ministry team there.

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