Foodbank in 'desperate' need amid growing demand

Bildeston Foodbank is looking after 110 households in the local area

A foodbank said it was in "desperate" need of support as it faced a "growing need" amid low stock levels.

Shaun Moffat set up the Bildeston Foodbank in the village of Bildeston, near Ipswich, in March 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic to support people.

Five years later, Mr Moffat said it was supporting 110 local families and giving away £5,000 worth of food each month.

He said the foodbank was facing the highest need level it had ever witnessed and it was in urgent need of public support.

Mr Moffat said stock levels were the lowest they had been since the foodbank opened

"We're the highest need levels we've ever been," Mr Moffat explained.

"It's a difficult time of year so far as donations are concerned because we get forgotten between Easter and the harvest festival.

"There just seems to be more and more demand at the moment."

Shaun Moffat and Jo Davies help run the Bildeston Foodbank which is part of the Bildeston Community Support

Mr Moffat said despite a high demand, the foodbank saw "an awful lot of people not wanting to ask for help" and were often asking for "the minimal".

"We see lots of tears and fears," he continued.

"We help people out of their situation by helping to link them with other agencies, do benefit checks and helping them get back into work.

"I would say 99.9% of the families we've come across in the six years we've been operating really don't want to ask for help."

Members of the public can donate tins of food in donations boxes, but Mr Moffat said they were also in need of financial donations

Mr Moffat said the foodbank need financial donations to enable it to buy stock it was low on.

Without this he feared for the future.

"Things will only get worse towards winter," he said.

"This is normally our lower season and we're getting desperate now."