Food charity prepares for further surge

A vital city charity fears the growing economic fallout will push its service to the limit. Canterbury Food Bank saw demand treble at the start of the coronavirus crisis.

But it is now bracing itself for an even bigger surge with the expected flood of redundancies this autumn when government furlough payments end.

At the outset of the lockdown, it faced a huge increase in requests for food parcels while suffering a slump in donations. While that peak has now eased, demand is still more than twice that of last year. From March to June, the charity provided almost 17,000 meals compared to 10,629 during the same period in 2019. Chairman of the charity’s trustees, Martin Ward, said: “All the forecasts indicate that there will be substantial, ongoing redundancies as a result of recession. “It is inevitable that more people will suddenly find themselves out of work and in financial hardship when furlough ends. But we will be here to help them through it.”

The charity suffered a drop in food donations at the start of the lockdown as people stayed at home and the charity had to launch a cash appeal to make up the shortfall.

Nearly 500 people contributed and there was also financial help from a wide variety of organisations in the area.

It resulted in the food bank spending £9,308 on food in just five weeks of the lockdown. Normally, food is distributed to applicants who are referred via a variety of agencies due to their hardship.

But now the charity says it will deal with direct applications through its website or over the phone, because the agencies themselves are struggling to cope with the demand for support.

It can be contacted via www. canterburyfoodbank.org or by calling 01227 936450. Meanwhile, former Lord Mayor Ann Taylor, 77, from Herne Bay, is planning a sponsored wing walk in aid of the charity on September 17. To support Ann’s effort, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ann-taylor-wingwalk.