West Midlands foodbank already preparing for winter surge
The Salma Foodbank is expecting to see a 25 percent rise.
Last updated 19th Sep 2023
A foodbank in Smethwick is already preparing for the winter months ahead, as it expects to see demand surge.
The Salma Foodbank currently helps up to 500 people every week with food parcels.
Bosses there are predicting that number to rise by at least 25 percent over the winter period.
Imran, who runs the foodbank, said: "We're definitely expecting it to be a lot busier than 2022.
"In a pattern of what we're seeing is that it's constantly increasing on a quarterly basis, so we're expecting the demand.
"At the moment, the amount of people who are helping has grown by about 40 percent since last year, and it's really not going to stop."
Figures from 2022/23 show that 278,230 emergency parcels were given out by Trussell Trust.
It's predicted by Trussell Trust that food parcels will reach a record high this winter.