Kirkby food bank needs more food donation as cost of living crisis bites

The Storehouse Kirkby Foodbank “urgently” needs more food donations after its stock of lifeline goods has started to dwindle –meanwhile its number of service users has increased threefold.

Organisers of the Ashwood Centre food bank on Portland Street says recent hikes in food and energy bills has meant fewer donations as more people tighten their belts.

The Kirkby Churches For All project says whilst donations reduced, it was now seeing more older people and families with young children increasingly unable to make ends meet.

Foodbank volunteer John Butler, a retired chartered builder from Ravenshead, said the recent situation was a “perfect storm”.

He said: “The knock-on effect of energy price and cost of living increases had a major impact on lots of people in our locality, as a consequence we’ve been giving out more of our food this past month, at the same time we’ve had fewer donations, as people feel the pinch. "Our superrmarket donations, which helped during the pandemic are also down.

“More people need our help, it’s becoming harder as heating and food bills go up, we see young families, the unemployed, but more and more it’s older people in their 50s, 60s, 70s, people on fixed pensions,who can’t make their money stretch.”

Gill Isterling, foodbank manager, said: “We’re only a small foodbank, but we’ve seen our use triple over the past two weeks so stocks are running down more quickly.

"Those at the end of the spectrum increasingly have to make choices between heating or eating. Things like meat are increasing in price, so we are appealing for tinned goods, such as stewing steak and tins of curry.”

Items desperately needed include long life semi-skimmed milk, tins of meat; corned beef, steak, mince etc, tins and packets of soup,

tinned vegetables, such as peas, carrots, sweetcorn and tinned potatoes.

They can be dropped off at the Ashwood Centre every Tuesday, 12 noon - 2pm. John also collects from doorsteps every second Monday in the month, (next Monday, May 9). Contact John by text, messenger, or Whatsapp, or phone 07711 535018.

Donations can also be dropped at 4 Mavis Avenue, Ravenshead, NG15 9EB.