Harry Coombes, Copywriter

Food banks have played a vital role supporting families during the coronavirus pandemic. The number of people relying on them doubled at the start of the spring lockdown alone. But as we move towards a vaccine, we can’t get complacent in our support. The Trussell Trust projects a 61% increase in demand for food parcels by the end of December. That’s a staggering six food parcels given out per minute. It’s essential that food banks be able to match this demand with supply.

“Urgent food requests rose sharply in the last week of October so we’re already seeing the impact of the second lockdown. We need donations to make sure every person requesting a food box receives full provision.” -Sian, Hammersmith and Fulham Food Bank

Two food banks in Earlsfield and Chichester share what goes on behind the scenes. It’s a brief look into how Bankuet helps, what keeps the volunteers motivated and why we must continue with your help.

Earlsfield Food Bank, Wandsworth

Charlotte, Manager

Tell us about what happens on a typical day at the food bank?

“Thursday morning is our food bank session. We have guests coming to order their food. We then have volunteers packing food at the back and then we give them bags to maximise social distancing. We’ll also give them some fresh food. It’s fantastic because our Bankuet delivery arrives on this day, and the crates are always really nice and full.”

What are some of the biggest problems you have faced as a team at the food bank?

“During the pandemic we had to change quite a few things. Probably the biggest challenge was setting up a delivery system because many of our guests are isolating or shielding so we had to do that and do that very, very quickly. So that was a challenge. And I think the other issue was making sure we could operate the food bank in a safe way with social distancing for our volunteers. We keep all guests outside, they order at one entrance and then we give food out at the other entrance to really minimise flow within the building.”

How has Bankuet helped your food bank this week?

“Bankuet is amazing because it enables us to ask specifically for what we really, really need. We’re lucky we have lots of donations that come in from the street and local community. But sometimes it’s not necessarily exactly what we need. For example at the beginning we’d have lots of pasta, lots of chickpeas but we were running short on lots of other things so this week Bankuet has been fantastic because we received tinned meat and we were completely low on tinned meat. We’ve also received tea and coffee - something that we were really, really in need of! So, we absolutely love the system!”

Why is it so important that people continue to donate to food banks via Bankuet?

“We’re in the middle of a pandemic, and coronavirus has not gone away. We’re at the beginning of a deep recession. So, we’ve seen our numbers steadily increase since March. We’ve had numbers triple what they used to be. I can only see that increasing, so I think it’s so important that we just keep this going through the next year.”

Chichester Food Bank, South of England

Jane, Volunteer

Talk us through what happens at the food bank.

“The main warehouse is where all the food comes in. We organise it into types of food and expiry date so that it’s easy to sort to give out to clients. When food is donated, this is where it comes to initially. It’s all weighed so we know exactly how much has been donated and distributed. From there, it is put into various categories of types of food and after that it’s put into the main warehouse.”

What made you decide to volunteer?

“I think the main reason I volunteered was I wanted to help and make a difference to good organisations like this. Throughout my life I’ve been quite lucky in that I’ve been supported and loved and encouraged. So, I’ve always been able to provide for my family, and I’ve always been really lucky that way. But some people just don’t have that - some people don’t have anyone. And if something goes wrong in their life, they have no support system.

So, an organisation like this provides that safety net and I just wanted to play a really small part. Also, as a mum I think it must be the worst thing to not be able to feed your children properly and to have to make that choice as to whether you eat or whether your child eats. I can’t imagine what it feels like, so I wanted to help.”

Why should people donate?

“Many people have lost their jobs and the pandemic is also affecting people's income in other ways. They could be evicted from their housing; all sorts of problems could stem from this lockdown and I think we really need to keep in mind that we need to keep supporting these people and keep donating any way that we can.”

Looking for ways to help? Bankuet helps get food banks what they need, when they need it.