Redcar food bank issues urgent appeal after donations from the public dry up
A food bank boss has suggested she may have to turn people away without an upturn in donations from the public.
Helen Hedges, who manages the Redcar Area Food Bank, said the demand for emergency food parcels from those using the service was outstripping the number of donations being received.
This meant the food bank, which was set up in 2013, was having to dip into its own limited funds to buy provisions, something that could not continue indefinitely.
So far this year the food bank, which is operated by volunteers from the long-established Redcar-based charity Footprints In The Community and part of a nationwide network supported by the Trussell Trust, had provided more than 3,500 food parcels, but the gap between the number of donations and items being distributed was widening.
Mrs Hedges said: “This is putting a strain on our ability to continue to support the people who need us in Redcar and Cleveland.”
She said it was hoped the generosity of local communities would mean they would rally round so the food bank could continue supporting those in need on the lowest incomes.
Trussell estimates that about a third of people supported by food banks are children.
More than 39% of children living in Redcar and Cleveland are deemed to be in poverty, well above the national figure of 27%.
Mrs Hedges told the Local Democracy Reporting Service there had been a decline over the few past years in donations of food items, but the drop had become particularly stark this year.
She said: “We are having to buy in a lot more food and suddenly the money is running out.
“We used to get loads of private individuals dropping off donations at our warehouse and we get virtually none now at all, it’s mainly what we collect through supermarkets, but even that is down as well.
“It’s the knock on effect of cost of living rises and everything else.”
Asked if it could be forced to turn people away, Mrs Hedges said: “There comes a point where if we don’t get extra funding that will happen.
“We’ve actually had to reduce the number of parcels we give out.
“We have nine food bank centres across Redcar and Cleveland and are averaging somewhere between 120 and 200 people a week now.
“We want to make sure that no one has to go hungry, but we need the public’s help to make this happen.”
One of the food bank’s funders is Redcar and Cleveland Council, which has been contacted for comment.
Urgently needed items include tinned potatoes, tinned meat, tinned fruit, tinned vegetables and bottles of cordial.
For more information on how to donate food or money visit https://redcararea.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/
Donations can also be accepted at the head office at 10 Queen Street, Redcar, between 9am and 12 noon Monday to Friday. Its telephone number is (01642) 484842.