Food bank sees donations drop by 10% each year

Résumé détaillé

Staff fear the government stockpiling advice will have an impact on donations as Christmas looms.

A food bank that has seen a drop in donations of about 10% each year since 2023 is hoping government stockpiling advice will not affect the public's generosity.

Someone eats a meal provided by Cambridge City Foodbank "every two minutes" and it claims to have provided more than 260,000 in the past year.

In October, the government launched its "Be Ready" campaign and encouraged households to stock up with enough non-perishable food and water to survive for three days in case of an emergency.

Chief executive Steve Clay says he does not know if this will affect the Christmas appeal - their busiest period - but confesses: "It is a concern."

A government spokesperson said it had "no serious evidence of stockpiling or indeed a supply shortage" with the campaign and it had worked with voluntary organisations and charities to address any concerns.

The food bank team estimates it will provide more than 45,000 meals to people in the city between 13 November and 15 January.

Clay says that with cold weather and pressure on spending, Christmas is "more difficult" than the rest of the year.

"Budgets are tighter, more has to be spent on fuel and energy," he said.

"So people are contacting us all the time for emergency support and we need to make sure that the support is always there and is continuing to be there."

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