To wonder if foodbank supply is outstripping demand in your area too?

[etherealfeline]

I've just seen a Facebook post from a local foodbank (which was just set up a couple of months ago in response to the Marcus Rashford campaign) appealling to people to come and take food away ... they've got an oversupply. A few days ago I saw one from a similar group which was parceling up excess food to be delivered to local schools with requests that they be handed out to families (which probably gives the schools a few logistical issues in the current climate - we're in Tier 3).

Just wondering if this is happening in other areas too. I get that there are families in need, but I wonder if supply is outstripping demand, or perhaps the problem is more the type of food that is being donated in such large quantities (e.g. selection boxes, which are a cheap treat but don't feed a hungry family).

Not in our area, and you wouldn't think it was a deprived area (though its in the top ranking for lack of social mobility). As well as the food bank where you do need to get a voucher there is a Community Pantry where people can just take what they need, no questions, no referral. They get food donated by supermarkets, producers and cafes when stuff is shortdated, as well as personal donations and that is incredibly successful esp as the lady who runs it is very open about using foodbanks herself in the past and its kind of presented as 'take what you need, give what you can' rather than having to ask for charity and not chosing food/products so people can just pick up bread and veg/fruit from the 'stop food waste' part and then bits to make a meal to get to their next payment

In our area, patients are saying demand outstrips supply. Some posts on some subjects have an odd feel in the last few months.

Quite a few foodbanks get overstocked in the week before Christmas.

It's when everybody, the dog and his uncle decide to get that Band Aid warm feeling and start dropping stuff off.

Then in January, it plummets.

Happens every year here.

Also - don't forget that 'overstocked' is simply a measure of how much storage space your local foodbank has.

But, nice goady post.

North here, Yorkshire. Local food banks desperate for food. Demand a lot higher than supply.

I live in the North, and our local food bank is asking for monetary contributions as they are getting lots of certain items, but short on other stuff. I won’t give money though. It’s too open for abuse. I would rather give food as I know it will be going to where it needs to go.

The food bank I volunteer at in the North is well stocked but they do fresh, chilled and frozen food as well as tinned, so there's lots they can't store for long. They're particularly good at social media, so they update their supporters on what they need and also have an Amazon wishlist so people can donate exactly what is needed and it gets delivered straight to them.

We do find that the shelves are quote empty in January, so we ask anyone doing the reverse advent calendar to bring it in in January if they can. We also do a "treat amnesty" where people can donate excess food leftover from January that they can't get through.

I think if you'd like to donate to a food bank, call them first and ask what they need and when.

Are the referring organisations seeing vulnerable people in order to give them their chit to go and get a bag of groceries. As someone said upthread, most food banks, it's no referral, no food. Is that why there is a glut in some areas, because no referrals as the public's access to support services has been blocked for much of the year over Covid precautions.

I really don't know, thankfully but I am wondering.

Food banks often get donated things that they cannot pass on such as short shelf life, a product which isn't in English, some fresh products which can't be past on. I think some donators forget that a lot of the time the cooking equipment can be bare minimum e.g a hot plate in a bedsit.

The food bank my mum volunteers at has gone from 100 families to over 1000 this year. So much so that they have taken over empty shop units thanks to the help of the council in order to meet the demand.

My town has a food bank and a community food hub (the later not means tested/referral system). We are a town of 10,000 residents so the fact that we are have 2 gives an indication of how tough times are.

I've just checked the 3 that are local to me.

All of them are still voucher referral only and restricted to 3 days worth of food.

No sign of an over-abundant supply.

My children’s school has set up a foodbank and nearly-new toy/book bank for Christmas presents. It’s been very well attended and anyone known to the school is welcome to attend. I wonder if official food banks in OPs area struggle because they need a referral for someone to attend?

Like a PP, I do wonder if it is to do with people needing the services not being able to/not knowing how to access them.

In our local area, most foodbanks are not drop in/walk in type places- you have to be referred by someone e.g. school/social worker/CAB etc.

I have heard from people I work with who are able to do referrals that many parents don't know what help is available or think you have to be on benefits etc OR are too proud to accept the help.

Anyway, my local foodbank is regularly posting lists of much needed food and other items on Facebook, so I think it is fair to say they are not running short.

Like many foodbanks, they do list items they don't currently need- such as dried pasta and tinned soups but I think it's very clear the demand is there!

My local supermarket donates to a food bank in a deprived Council estate a few miles away so I don't think the lack of deprivation in an area is indicative of need for food bank donations.
I believe one of the problems for food banks is not only storage but volunteers. Many volunteers are over 70 so are not volunteering at present.
I do think more people have donated this year as people are aware that there is more need than usual.
As so many donation points are in supermarkets, it would be good if supermarkets donated some of their profits to help pay for staff and storage. Some supermarkets do also offer to add a set amount to your shopping bill to donate money to a food bank.

I do think there needs to be an overhaul of the referral system. Ours has a referral system and a pantry service which is self referral. It can be accessed for as long as people need it, as not everyone can access benefits and those benefits aren't always enough anyway. Giving someone a voucher for a few days' worth of food as a one off just isn't enough if their situation doesn't improve in the near future. Having to back for more vouchers is humiliating for many.

If you really wan to help then please set up a direct debit so that your local foodbank gets a regular monthly donation and they can use it for the supplies they really need. Or, buy non perishables - toiletries, nappies, san pro is always needed.

What motivates this post, I wonder?

It’s at least a variation on the usual theme of ‘my food bank is asking for crisps instead of lentils’ and ‘I know for a fact that millionaires are taking food bank parcels’.

Interesting.

Winechateauxjoy - I don’t think the OP really wants to help.

Our area the food bank has officially said they can’t meet demand and asked others to set up a second food bank.

It’s the opposite here although at this time of year there are more donations
At Easter there were 100’s of Easter eggs leftover and they were giving them away to anyone because so many companies had donated dozens of eggs and they can’t store them in their limited space.

People are more generous at Christmas. Also if it's a new food bank, it might not have built it's referrals up.

Also food Banks in smaller towns have limited space/manpower so it is difficult to get the balance right.

Better to have too much than have starving kids. Now needs to have a focus on cash donations to help with other stuff - stationery etc

What motivates this post, I wonder?

It's an interesting discussion to be fair. It's sad that food banks have to exist at all, but the disparity in stock and demand across the country is evident, and I am definitely thinking now if it's better to donate to somewhere like the trussell trust rather than take food to a food bank that has an abundance of food and often can't accept it.

Something similar happened where i live. A group of locals (very admirably) took action after the Rashford campaign, spent the last month garnering support and donations.

Launched yesterday, setting up a meal give away point in the the town and by 2pm the meals had been given to the schools to try and give away. It's sad because the need is definitely there but i think the group underestimated the work that goes into creating local networks of need and how to best communicate with those who needed the meals.

I think our local ones must be overstocked atm because they are actively campaigning for recipients through local schools, including DS's primary. We are in NE London, not a very affluent area, but the families attending DS's school just don't need food parcels.

I have no doubt that there are people living locally who would benefit, but I feel as if the food bank has a particular recipient in mind (family, sad eyed waifs, rather than single adults with substance or social problems). Either that or they really have more food than they can shift.

Thinking about it, I might recall that the council has increased funding. Possibly the demand hasn't materialised?

I live in a small town which has a cross section of people from those struggling to those comfortably off.
The community spirit is fabulous. The long-standing Foodbank has always been generously stocked. Since the start of the pandemic people have been even more generous. There are more food banks. People in need are having food brought to them. Groups are delivering craft supplies to children. The supermarkets are falling over themselves to donate food and large sums of money. There are several ways that people can access new toys.

I have this nagging feeling that despite all this there may be families who cannot take advantage of this support for a variety of reasons. Lack of local knowledge, transport, mistrust, physical or mental health issues which make it impossible for them to leave the house. I hope I’m wrong. And I don’t know the answer anyway.

I think that
a) this is going to be very area dependent / localised
b) you commonly get a 'blip' the week before Christmas when all the people who do a 'one of donation' donate. It will be a different story 3 weeks into January.
c) They do get bogged down with well meaning individuals, shops, warehouses, offices, and all sorts of companies donate things like selection boxes, which sounds nice, but many are desperate for cleaning products, sanitary products, things like toothpaste and toothbrushes, and actual protein - tins of fish or meat rather than more pasta.