Feeding Gainsborough: the army of volunteers making sure people don't go hungry

• Report by Emma Wilkinson

Economic output fell by a record 9.9% last year, which is more than twice the fall during the financial crisis, and nowhere has the economic impact of the pandemic been felt more than in already disadvantaged communities.In Lincolnshire, Feeding Gainsborough is a partnership or organisations that try to prevent people going hungry, by collecting and distributing surplus food from local supermarkets and businesses that might otherwise go to landfill. The union has businesses which sell reduced price food, and profits go towards providing free food and support to people who are struggling to afford what they need. Since it started 18 months ago, Feeding Gainsborough has experienced higher demand than it ever imagined - in the first lockdown alone it says it distributed the equivalent of 312,000 free meals.Volunteers collect from outlets seven days a week and the food is then sorted and redistributed in a number of different ways.