A CHARITY that is helping to feed the borough says demand has soared four-fold on last year.
The Wokingham Foodbank says it has seen a huge increase in referrals received from households since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Over the last 10 weeks the Foodbank has fed more than 1,500 people: an increase of almost 400%.
And it says it is routinely distributing a ton of food every week to households who cannot afford to buy food.
The organisation, based out of Wokingham’s town centre, is currently receiving a number of referrals for individuals who have been furloughed but struggling to make ends meet on 80% of their normal salary.
There has also been a rise in referrals from local schools where families are finding it difficult to pay for extra meals when their children are at home during the day.
Foodbank manager Annette Medhurst said: “While Wokingham is known to be a wealthy area, it is also a very expensive place to live and not everyone has an income that lets them manage their household expenses easily.
“All it can take is a broken boiler or a period of ill-health for some households to be forced to make very difficult choices about how to spend their income, including whether or not they can afford to put food on the table.”
Wokingham Foodbank is part of the Trussell Trust network, which has partnered with British Gas. The energy firm has allowed a number of its furloughed engineers helping to deliver food parcels
“One of our biggest challenges at the moment is getting food to people who need it,” said Mrs Medhurst.
“We have moved over to a delivery model to distribute food parcels because we want to minimise groups of people attending the Foodbank.
“The support we have received from British Gas is fantastic, the team of drivers are incredibly enthusiastic and supportive of our work.”
Open four days a week, the Foodbank has approximately 10 volunteers a day collecting donations from supermarkets, dating and sorting the donations, making up food parcels, processing referrals and preparing food parcels for delivery.
Many of the Foodbank’s usual volunteers are unable to work as they fall into vulnerable categories. The organisation currently has a team of approximately 35 active volunteers in total, but are unable to take on more due to social distancing rules and limited physical space.
Anyone struggling to buy food should contact Citizens Advice on 0300 330 1189 to talk through their situation and if appropriate receive a referral to the Foodbank.
