Food bank warns stocks running 'desperately low'

Bare shelves inside the warehouse used to store donations are only getting barer, said the food bank

A food bank says stocks are running "desperately low" as the charity supports more people needing help.

The Derby Food 4 Thought Alliance (DF4TA), of Charnwood Street, Derby, said half of the calls it had received were from people who had never used a food bank before.

The charity, set up in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, is calling for support to keep its shelves stocked.

Manager Paul Brookhouse says it costs between £8,000 and £10,000 a month to meet the current level of demand.

He said: “We are running desperately low, and things are getting serious. We simply don’t have the funds to fill our shelves.

“We need help, and we need it now. It makes me very miserable to think that in 2024, people are going hungry.

“It disappoints me when we have to keep making urgent appeals for help - but what can we do?

“People will be going hungry if Derby Food 4 Thought Alliance does not step in and support the huge number of people who are calling us every day.”

People will end up going hungry, warns Paul Brookhouse

New clients come to the charity for a wide variety of reasons.

One user, a 31-year-old man, who asked to remain anonymous, started using the food bank when he suffered problems financially.

Getting a food parcel was "very easy" and "very quick", he said, and he was offered help with energy vouchers and replacement furniture.

"If I didn't have food, I wouldn't be in a good position at all," he added.

"People like myself, regular families, they need somewhere to go when crisis hits."

Donations of both food and financial contributions are needed, said Mr Brookhouse.

As well as keeping Derby families in need fed, the charity said it was also working to establish a series of community food hubs and pantries.

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