The pressures placed on our stock levels by heavy demand during the school summer holidays continue to be felt.

Generous donations received during September helped us to start building up our stocks again but shortfalls in several everyday items remain a concern, reports our Stock Controller Louise Willmer, especially as we begin the run-up to winter and Christmas, our busiest times of the year.

So, one litre cartons of long life whole full fat milk are once more at the top of our Top 10 priority items for October along with tinned meat meals such as meat balls, mince and stew, and tinned plain meat – corned beef, ham, chicken.

Boxes/packets of dried potato are also on our list together with tinned vegetarian meals and tinned tomatoes. Small bottles of fruit squash, tins of fruit and rice pudding, and packet/tinned custard are other most wanted items. Completing our list for October are toilet rolls.

Click here to view this month’s full list. To have the list sent direct to your inbox at the start of each month, just email steve.purleyfoodhub@gmail.com.

Donations can be brought to the Food Hub at Purley United Reformed Church (next to Purley Hospital) on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday mornings between 9.00am-12.00noon, and they can also be dropped off at any of our in-store and roadside collection points listed here.

Your donations not only provide emergency help to our own clients and their families but they also enable us to support Purley Food Stop at Old Lodge Lane Baptist Church and St Francis Food Stop in Monks Hill, Selsdon, where many of our clients go for further food help if they need it.

As a result of everyone’s continued generosity, we have provided food for more than 365,000 meals for over 40,000 people since we opened in 2013. THANK YOU ALL – WE ARE SO GRATEFUL.