Food bank fighting closure as premises to be shut

Grace Food Bank charity chair Becky Marshall said they were being evicted from their premises in Lowedges

Organisers of a food bank fear they may have to close if they are unable to find a new home after being told they must leave their current premises.

Grace Food Bank has been based at The Michael Church in Lowedges, Sheffield, since 2012 and supports between 200 and 300 people each week, with 11,215 service users during the past year - including more than 4,000 children.

However, volunteers said they have been told by landlord The United Reformed Church Yorkshire synod they need to be out by February.

The church said despite worshippers attending for more than 71 years, the congregation had now dwindled to just four ageing members and they would be closing the site.

Food bank charity chair Becky Marshall said: "Every person that comes has got a very difficult story they want to share and we're here to help, we make the difference between people managing and not managing."

She added that food was "the tip of the iceberg" for those struggling financially, and "sometimes it was just that expression of help that helps people get by from day to day".

Charity The Trussell Trust, which supports the food bank, said the number of emergency food parcels it helped to distribute across Yorkshire and the Humber had risen by 95% during the past five years.

Ms Marshall said winter was their busiest time of year as people grappled with the cost of energy, but food donations had dropped by about 20% this year, meaning the food bank was spending £1,000 each week to supplement supplies.

She explained their budget came from financial grants and private donations, but these would be harder to secure with uncertainty about the service's future.

Food bank manager Jackie Butcher said the service was used by victims of domestic abuse

Food bank manager Jackie Butcher said people who used the service included victims of domestic violence who were living in temporary accommodation.

She explained some had children who were unable to move to a different school, so they were struggling with additional transport costs.

One user of the food bank Dean, 50, said he was living with his father after his mother died from leukaemia last year and that they both relied on the charity's support.

Dean, who said he had to ask for help after being the victim of a machete attack which left him unable to work, said the food bank generated "a sense of community".

"If it wasn't for this, I don't know what we would do," he added.

'Alternative premises'

Ms Marshall said the food bank, which pays an annual rent of £5,500, was now looking for a new home - but wanted to explore the possibility of leasing the building.

The United Reformed Church synod said the food bank provided "a much-valued and important service" and were pleased the church had been their home for so long.

A spokesperson said the church first advised the food bank that it would be "prudent to seek alternative premises" when discussions about the possible closure of the building began in 2022.

They said they gave the charity notice on 4 September of their plans to close by the end of February 2026.

Ms Butcher, from Grace Food Bank emphasised that even if the charity closed its doors in February, they would still need donations before then.

"That's still another five months, if people stop donating food or money now, we're going to be really stuffed to be honest," she added.

"We're still here, we're still trying to stay here, and we're grateful for every tin and packet."

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds or catch up with the latest episode of Look North.