Winchester Basics Bank sees increased demand 20 years after founding

The pledge comes as the volume of donations has begun to slow down.

Leona Mani, of Winchester Basics Bank (WBB), founded in 2004, said: “In an ideal world, we would not be here. But we can’t not be here, and we will help everyone who needs it".

According to Ms Mani, the charity, which operates four food hubs across the city as well as a large storage facility in Winnall, is continuing to see a high number of clients accessing its services. However, she said the number of donations has begun to slow and the charity needs to spend around £1,000 a month to make sure it has enough food to give out.

Winchester Basics Bank director Leona Mani (left) with operations manager Angus Kirk (Image: Chris Atkinson)

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She said: “What the government keeps saying is that the standard of living is improving to pre-Covid levels. But I think this cannot be further from the truth.

“The message is we need the community to understand that we need help and support. We are grateful to the schools and churches who donate – and we want to say thank you so much to everyone who volunteers – but it is important that people recognise that we still need more help.

“People might think this is an affluent area and think that it is not bad here, but it is. The demand is going up”.

The charity has recently completed its Easter Holiday Lunch Scheme, providing food to 248 children across the Winchester district. This is an increase from 152 children who were provided lunch last year.

The main way the foodbank is accessed is by clients using vouchers issued by agencies such as Winchester City Council, Trinity or Citizens Advice. These vouchers entitle them to one "shop" at the basics bank, where they can receive five days' worth of food for whoever many people make up their family group.

According to Winchester Basics Bank, in the first three months of 2024, 845 vouchers have been used, with 1,903 people receiving food.

This is in contrast to 2023, where a total of 2,844 vouchers were used in the whole year, with 8,057 people receiving five days worth of food.

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Angus Kirk, operations manager for WBB, said: “I am sure we are going to go over the number of visitors from last year. But those figures might include the same person coming back multiple times.

“Everyone is feeling the pinch, so we are trying to help out everyone as much as we can.”

Ms Mani continued: “For us, we feel like we are providing a service that is important, and it is a sign of the times. In a perfect world, we would not exist.”

More information about Winchester Basics Bank can be found on its website.