News / poverty
Food bank faces empty shelves as demand soars
“Before we closed on Friday, we had run out of a number of items … virtually everything,” says Peter Shears, team leader at the Kingswood Foodbank.
The volunteer says Kingswood is facing the pressure of the impending rise in National Insurance and energy bills, and that this has seen an increase in how many people are using food banks.
The Kingswood one at the Bourne Christian Centre in Waters Road operates on a voucher system, and usually a voucher can be exchanged for a minimum of three days’ food.
is needed now More than ever
Peter explains: “We’re set up to help people with a short-term need. Pre-Covid, we restricted people to five vouchers in a six-month period.
“Now, we start looking at people who’ve had more than five, but there are plenty of people who are in double figures. We try to work with them so they don’t need us.”
Volunteers at the Kingswood Foodbank are worried about having enough food to feed those in need – photo: Caitlin Quinn
Peter, a retired civil servant, also says that food donations have dropped off now that Christmas is out of the way, and that Covid-19 is affecting volunteer numbers.
He continues: “We could always do with more volunteer drivers. Some people can’t get to us because they are self-isolating, they’ve got disabilities or they haven’t got transport and they’ve got four kids to bring with them – it’s frankly impossible.”
They say that more donations, drivers and deliveries are needed to cope with the surging demand – photo: Caitlin Quinn
Many of the Kingswood Foodbank volunteers come from local churches, as it is part of Christian charity the Trussell Trust.
A volunteer called Mary says she got involved after a noticeboard in her church was advertising the food bank opening.
She adds: “I went along for four weeks training, and here I still am! I used to teach and it came up to retirement, and I couldn’t retire until I had something in place.
“It’s very important to me, it’s something that’s very special to me. I love the people I work with, I love meeting the people, and, in a simple way, we can make a difference.”
The Kingswood Foodbank Facebook page is updated regularly with what they need, but at the moment they could do with drivers, toiletries, dog and cat food (clients often prioritise feeding animals over themselves), and as always, tins and milk.
Caitlin Quinn is reporting on Kingswood as part of Bristol24/7’s community reporter scheme, a project which aims to tell stories from areas of Bristol traditionally under-served by the mainstream media
Main photo: Caitlin Quinn
Read more: WECA mayor set to receive £20,000 pay rise
Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
