Worcester food bank seeks volunteers amid 'complex' demand

Grahame Lucas said the food bank's work had become "more complex" as things got busier

A food bank has said it needs more volunteers as staff struggle with increased demand for their help.

Worcester Food Bank currently helps about 1,500 people each month, a 40% increase on 2022.

The group said it was spending about £5,000 each week to buy stock from supermarkets, which had added to the workload of staff.

"The process has got more complex, as we've got busier - it's crazy," the scheme's Grahame Lucas said.

Staff have had to buy more goods from outlets, Mr Lucas explained, as a rising number of donations were in money form rather than food.

"The amount of stuff we are getting through is just incredible. We'll probably pick up two or three van loads," he said.

A mother-of-three, who turned to the food bank for help as she struggled to make ends meet with her job as a support worker, said: "Things are so expensive and we realised what you put in for shopping is more than it used to be."

The food bank helps about 1,500 people each month in the city

One of the food bank's volunteers, Alison, said she helped one day a week for about five hours.

"I usually start off checking all the shelves - quite often the shelves will be a little bit bare so we'll get round and check there is plenty of stuff ready to go and I personally get food parcels ready for delivery," she said.

Volunteers were needed to pack parcels, sort and unpack goods and, heading into winter, make up Christmas hampers, Ruth Allsopp, from the food bank, said.

"The people who volunteer here are genuinely the loveliest people in the world," she added.

"It can be sad hearing people's stories but massively uplifting when you see people's generosity."