Online food bank push as demand soars in NI
A new online donation platform is trying to help the continuing surge in demand for food banks in Northern Ireland.
Recent stats from the Trusell Trust shows there has been an 75% surge in demand for food banks in Northern Ireland.
Food banks receive plenty of essential items such as pasta and rice, but there is a huge shortage of other essential items such as tinned vegetables, UHT milk, washing powder, toothpaste and nappies.
That's why Robin Ferris created an online food donation bank, Bankuet.
It raises the funds through online donations to buy supplies in bulk – negotiating with suppliers making the money go further – and then delivers them to the food banks.
There's also a campaign running in Northern Ireland 'Give Food Give Joy’ alongside local artist JC Stewart, from Magherafelt.
Ferris was working in the record industry when he came up with the idea for Bankuet. "I was reading headlines about food poverty on my own doorstep, so I started a food collection point at my local Co-op. I was picking up the food, sorting it at my flat, driving it to the food bank. Having worked through the digital transformation of the music industry I just thought: why isn’t there an easier way to donate?
"I always hoped Bankuet would become a solution to getting food to people who needed it in a crisis situation,” said Ferris. “I didn’t know the crisis would be this big."
"‘Our vision is to get foodbanks what they need, when they need it, and to make it easier for people to give."
For more information visit www.bankuet.co.uk
JC’s website: https://www.iamjcstewart.com