Food bank sees donations from supermarkets drop

Wokingham food bank manager Annette Medhurst says referrals to the service are going up

A food bank in Berkshire has said it has seen donations from supermarkets fall by 15%.

Wokingham Food Bank has given out 4,500 emergency food parcels in the past year and has reported a 5% increase in people using the service.

Manager Annette Medhurst said "people see us as part of the high street and quite possibly incorrectly think that we have government funding, or receive financial support from the local council".

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) described the "mass dependence" on food banks as unacceptable and said it was working to "fix the system and make work pay" so people can become more financially secure.

Ms Medhurst said about 75% of donations come from supermarkets, where people place items they have bought in collection cages.

But with many facing rising costs, it has impacted how much food can be spared, she added.

"We have clients coming in to the food bank telling us that normally they donate to the food bank and they are in disbelief that they now need to use our services," Ms Medhurst told the BBC.

"We are now in a position that we need to purchase items to make sure to plug any gaps."

Adam Lee has been using the food bank for the past year

Adam Lee uses food banks in Reading and relies on Universal Credit after losing his job last year.

The 51-year-old moved to Berkshire from Australia more than 10 years ago and said "there's too much month at the end of the money".

"I've seen a significant drop in donations but also a drop in healthier foods so a lot of the foods that seem to be donated are croissants and muffins," he said.

He recalled when he was made redundant how the DWP told him the first thing to do was register at a food bank.

"The government has shifted the responsibility for providing people who need social care, they have deliberately moved it to the generosity of the British people and [food banks]," Mr Lee said.

The DWP said it has increased the National Living Wage, uprated benefits and introduced a new Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit to bring a £420 boost to over one million households.