Volunteer drivers needed by FareShare in north-east England

The charity is supplying 200 community groups across the North East with food

A charity donating surplus food to community groups has said it needs more drivers to get the produce out.

FareShare said increasing demand for food meant the 40 volunteer drivers it had in Newcastle and the 20 in Middlesbrough were not enough.

Each week "hundreds of tonnes" of food from manufacturers is distributed to groups running food banks and cafes.

FareShare's chief executive in the North East, Jake Hanmore, said demand for food had "sky rocketed".

"We work with a wide range of community groups from homeless hostels to breakfast clubs and community cafes, hoping to address not only the symptoms of hunger but also the root causes, such as loneliness isolation, cooking skills and training as well as supporting people through tough times," he said.

The organisation collects excess food from manufacturers and passes it on.

The food could be surplus for a number of reasons - more food than needed might have been produced, or it could be unwanted because of an issue with the packaging.

Jake Hanmore said he hoped to be able to tap further into the food industry

Mr Hanmore said: "We want to get as much of the surplus food out to the community as we can so we're trying to get more contacts from the food industry involved as there's lots of food out there that we're not accessing and again with the drivers, we need more volunteers to help the hundreds of tonnes of food being moved here every week."

Volunteer driver Lizzie, said she found it "rewarding" to give something back but added she was struck by "people waiting outside" the community groups she delivers food to.

"I've noticed a greater demand and sense of anticipation at the places I've been too, with people hanging around waiting for the delivery, so they can have a meal that day," she said.

FareShare delivers to more than 200 groups across the region including Embells Community Support Project in Gateshead, where manager Emma Bell said cost-of-living pressures and school summer holidays had increased demand.

"Each week we're providing a community pop-up market and we're seeing more people, and it isn't just people who are receiving benefits, it's people who are working," she said.

"At the same time we've seen a massive drop in donations and that's one of the reasons we used FareShare because it helps us provide more support, because the people who normally donate just can't afford to help us."