Upsurge in demand puts extra pressure on food stocks and manpower resources.
After food for 3,276 meals was delivered to 364 clients and family members in August, a further 3,186 meals were provided for 354 people in September.
That was 90 meals fewer than in August, but only because there were eight Wednesday / Saturday Food Hub sessions compared to nine the previous month.
September’s meals were more than 1,000 up on a year ago and confirmation of predictions that increasing numbers of families will struggle to cope with the cost of living crisis.
That puts extra pressure on our resources – we had 24 deliveries with food for 65 people on the last Saturday in September and 26 deliveries for 76 people on the first Saturday in October.
So we are now seeking to recruit a number of extra drivers who can occasionally be available at short notice to deliver clients’ food parcels. If you are interested, please use the form on the Contact page to request a volunteer application form, or send an email to purleyfoodhub@gmail.com.
Stock Controller Louise said: “As we feared, we are now experiencing a huge increase in demand for deliveries. During September we were operating at full capacity on more than one occasion, and there is extra pressure on our stock reserves.”
It is very likely the number of clients will rise further in the autumn and we may surpass our existing capacity in November / December as the cold weather hits, energy costs increase and food bills continue to rise.