Growing demand forces Somerset food bank to search for bigger base

  • Watch Richard Payne's report

A Somerset food bank is desperately searching for a new, bigger home as it is struggling to keep up with an increase in demand.

As the rising cost of living is placing pressure on many people in the South West, the charity behind a Frome Food Bank is having to turn away some offers of help because it has not got the room to cope.

The Fair Frome group was started eight years ago and initially operated out of the back of a container.

It now run the town's food bank out of a cabin behind Frome Town Hall but it desperately needs somewhere bigger - even if it is a derelict site or a plot of land.

Trustee chair Bob Ashford told ITV News the food bank is something of a "barometer" which indicates how people are coping.

"Something happens out there and we see it almost immediately in terms of the food bank," he said.

"There is unfortunately no end in sight to the need for the food bank in Frome or in many other towns and cities. People just think this is an inner-city problem. It's not. Rural poverty can be even worse."

Fair Frome Chair of Trustees Bob Ashford says food poverty can be greater in rural areas than in cities

It is not just food people needed help with, the charity also provided people with furniture, clothing and vital equipment.

The number of people Fair Frome helped in the final three months of 2021 jumped 30 per cent compared to the rest of the year.

People are referred by various agencies, but hot food is given out three times a week to anyone who needs it.

Volunteer Karen Stewart said: "It's about constantly looking for ways we can fill those gaps that are being created all the time and I don't see that changing.

"I think they are just going to get more and more, so we're constantly looking for ways that we can try and bridge that."

Fair Frome helps hundreds of people from its small Portakabin home in a car park

The charity has plenty of support from residents, businesses and its volunteers, and it has given out 800 vouchers worth £25 to help people in need.

Co-ordinator Lenka Grimes said: "It's very basic. You're helping people with their food or fixing their washing machine or buying some school uniform or even paying for someone's bus fare because they've got to visit people in hospital.

"We're very flexible and we just know you're really making a difference."

But as demand has grown, space has shrunk in the tight aisles of the foodbank and volunteers cannot pack the parcels quickly enough to serve families, individuals and couples who need their help.

  • Anyone who has or knows of any property which may be suitable for Fair Frome is asked to contact the organisation by email at fairfromeinfo@gmail.com