After an extra-busy May and June, it was a less-busy-than-usual July at the Food Hub when, for the first time this year, the monthly number of meals provided to clients and their families dipped below 3,000.

Yet July’s 2,880 meals for 320 people took the total of meals provided so far in 2024 past 24,000. And on Saturday 3rd August we passed 360,000 meals for 40,000 people in the 11½ years since we opened in 2013.

With an expected increase in emergency referrals during the school holidays in August, the Management Committee is hugely grateful to Leo Cardow and her team at Purley Cross Centre (PCC) for their increased role in referring clients to the Food Hub since Purley Jobcentre stopped direct referrals in February. At some of our Wednesday and Saturday sessions as many as one third of the clients receiving food deliveries have been referred by PCC.

At some sessions too, a small number of clients now collect their food parcels directly from us, usually those living on busy roads where parking is difficult for our delivery drivers. The MC continues to look at if this can be extended.

• We continue to seek to recruit more volunteer drivers and escorts as well as packers, and also more volunteers to join our client support team. No previous experience is required, with all necessary training given on the job, and we can arrange taster sessions for potential volunteers to see what’s involved.

For more information and an application form, please contact Jean Ludlow, our Administrator, on 07546 635295 or email purleyfoodhub@gmail.com.