Romsey Foodbank sees increase in families using the crisis charity amid the cost-of-living crisis

Romsey Foodbank has just suffered a double hit with the cost-of-living crisis and the summer holidays and is now struggling to supply everything they used to.

Despite people questioning the necessity of a food bank in Romsey, the charity has seen an increase in families using the service at the Freedom Centre, parallel to the cost-of-living crisis.

The foodbank, in Budds Lane, is ran by a team of 25 local volunteers who sort through an average of more than 200kg of donations every Monday. And then from Tuesday to Thursday the team are busy packing bags and guiding people round the self-selection area.

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More and more families are coming under financial pressure amid rising costs which has become apparent at Romsey Foodbank. Acting manager, Eve Ibbott, said: “The cost of living crisis and the holidays hit pretty much at the same time. Summer holidays are generally a busier time for us as we offer additional support to families with school meal replacements, but this year we have seen a significant rise in the number of families accessing the Foodbank compared to 2021.

“Having said that, we were seeing an increase in numbers prior to the summer holidays also. In terms of changes, we are looking at donations and how we can increase them by engaging more local businesses.

“The impact on us is that we run low on food much quicker than we used to. Coupled with this our donations have reduced slightly since the crisis in Ukraine. Our stocks at the end of summer were very low and still we are having trouble supplying everything we used to. 

“We are seeing more and more people coming in who have never used a foodbank before, just struggling to make ends meet at the end of the month. Some are one-offs but we are really concerned about the Autumn as people's energy costs continue to rise as this is going to put incredible pressure on people's household budgets and we are expecting to be in demand more than ever.”

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The foodbank uses a referral process meaning all users have been referred by another agency such as their school or social worker. Upon arrival, people are greeted by a volunteer to chat through their situation and establish whether they would benefit from being signposted to another support service. Each person coming in for food support gets bags of pre-packed food, including the basics such as veg, beans, milk, pasta and rice as well as being able to choose their own preference of items in the self-selection area. The charity also supplies toiletries, pet food and domestic products. 

The local foodbank works closely with Citizens Advice, with a case worker who is able to support clients with energy vouchers and benefit help.

The crisis centre is now preparing for demand to keep increasing as the winter months draw nearer and the volunteers increase their hours for the harvest seasons.

For more go to romsey.foodbank.org.uk/.