Ticket partners asked to stress ‘call us’ message after 16 clients miss appointments in July.
Food Hub volunteers are having to unpack clients’ food parcels and put the contents back on the shelves after a surprise spate of ‘no shows’ by clients with appointments to collect.
Following one of our quietest Junes on record, July’s numbers of people fed and meals provided rose sharply, with 2,052 meals provided for 228 people. This compares with the June figures of 1,350 meals for 150 people.
However, the July figures would have been even higher if it had not been for an unexpected rise in the number of clients who missed their Wednesday appointments.
On 1st July six of the scheduled 18 clients failed to arrive, then on the 15th five clients did not turn up, and there were another five ‘no shows’ on the 29th.
Our volunteers understand that any client can have a problem which prevents them coming, and we will always try to make alternative arrangements to ensure that no-one goes without food. But after packing bespoke parcels according to each client’s needs, it is frustrating to end up frequently having to unpack the same bags and put the contents back on the shelves.
The ticket partner agencies who refer people to us are being asked to emphasise to clients the importance of contacting us if they can’t attend on the day so that alternative arrangements can be made.
This might mean providing an emergency pack to tide them over until the local Food Stops open on Friday, or arranging a special delivery if the client or helper has no way of collecting their food parcels.