Food Bank Britain: Each week End Hunger Fast is shining a spotlight on individual food banks, talking to some of the selfless volunteers who are working hard to compete with the explosion in demand.
Plymouth Food Bank has been operating since 2008 and in that time has helped approximately 20,000 people with emergency food parcels. Funded by the Methodist Mission Circuit they have witnessed a significant jump in demand since the middle of last year and attribute this mainly to the knock-on effect of welfare reforms.
Part of the Trussell Trust Foodbank network, they are a successful community project with 325 churches, schools, businesses, staff in all sorts of workplaces, clubs, societies and lots of individuals either collecting or donating food. Last November during the national food collection weekend over 4000 kg of food was collected outside two Tesco stores in the city.
Last year they were named as Sainsbury’s Plymouth Charity of the Year for 2013 – the second year running they have received this award.
David hindmarsh says:
February 21, 2014 at 7:11 pm -
It is intolerable that when the highest earners are receiving , or are awarding themselves escalating salaries and bonuses, the great majority is suffering hardship.
It is made far worse in this centenary year 2014, when we should,as a nation be conscious of the sacrifice made on our behalf by our countrymen in both world Wars, that many of us think only of obtaining gross personal advantage at the expense of others. We, these higher earners should be glad to pay more tax to alleviate the lot of the majority. It makes me ashamed of our English based Government to such an extent that I would understand it if the Scots vote do go it alone, simply to be free of the cant and gross hypocrisy of many of the Tories in the Cabinet .
Silvia Vousden says:
February 23, 2014 at 10:40 am -
A breakdown of the data outlining the reasons why people need to use food banks shows the vast majority have to use them because of benefit delays and sanctions. This puts the crisis firmly at the door of ongoing Government policies. It is time they took responsibility for the detrimental effects of their much touted ‘welfare reform’, and reinstate a flawed system that nevertheless better provided for those in need.
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February 24, 2014 at 2:15 pm -
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