Food bank volunteers in Cambridgeshire bid to meet winter test
This winter is expected to be one of their busiest on record
Food bank volunteers in Cambridgeshire say they will do all they can to cope with rising demand expected in the coming months.
More pressure at food banks is expected after the Trussell Trust said they predict to hand out over one-million emergency food parcels this winter.
The prediction comes as schoolchildren break up for the October half-term this week.
Sophie Hare helps out at March Foodbank:
"The hardest thing is listening to the stories people tell you - they break down because they never thought they'd be in this position," she said.
"It's difficult and you want them to feel comfortable.
"It's particularly sad when we see people coming in with babies with ailments, and you want to make sure they get the basics - warmth, food and shelter."
Between December and February 2024, the Trussell Trust expect to hand out over one-million emergency food parcels to more than 600,000 people, its most on record for this period.
That is roughly one food parcel every 8 seconds and 7,000 people are expected to seek support each day over this time.
"They've got nowhere else they can turn to"
Julie Watts also volunteers at March Foodbank - she believes support for the most vulnerable can't come quick enough.
"They've got nowhere else they can turn to and I can see unless things drastically improve or we have a mild winter, a lot of people are going to struggle financially and turning to us to try and give them help," she said.
"Budgeting is very difficult and there a lot of people who don't have the skill to budget or know what they can and can't do, so I think the demand on food banks is increasing because of that.
"At the moment we do have the supplies, but who knows what the future's going to bring."