Cheshire foodbank spends thousands on supplies and essential items as donations plummet

A foodbank in the North West say it has spent thousands of pounds stocking up on essential items after seeing a dramatic drop in the number of donations.

Volunteers at West Cheshire Foodbank is seeing a record number of people coming through the doors, just as donations of supplies are plummeting.

The Chester-based foodbank helps people who have been referred. Volunteers say users are usually at rock bottom by the time they access the service.

Ian Alton, trustee at West Cheshire Food Bank, says they are seeing a lot of first-time users who feel like they have "nowhere left to turn".

He said: "They've switched off their electric. We're getting requests for none-cook food because some folks can't even put the electric on now - and we're in the summer months."

The charity has been forced to fork out £10,000 of its own money to buy food and essential items in recent months, helping around 3,000 people in the local area.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, they have seen the number of people in desperate situations increase by a staggering 80%.

Ian said: "People coming to us just fear for the winter months. It's just scary and we're having to buy thousands of pounds worth of food just to keep up with demand.

"What happens when a foodbank runs out of food?"

The stark warning come as Bank of England (BoE) raises interest rates to 1.75% from 1.25% – the highest level since January 2009.

The BoE say that the UK is set to plunge into the longest recession since the financial crisis, beginning in the autumn and lasting for more than a year.

As millions of households grapple with the cost of living crisis, the BoE also predicted inflation will peak at more than 13% as gas prices soar.

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