Foodbank 'worried' about donations in January

A Berkshire foodbank said it was "worried" about getting enough donations in January.

Annette Medhurst, manager at Wokingham Foodbank, said she hoped the donations during the Christmas period would help the decrease in donations in January during the "quieter period".

According to the foodbank there has been an increase of more than 90% in referrals since 2019.

Ms Medhurst added: "Donations will definitely drop, we hope that the things we have got in during the run-up to Christmas will help see us through."

Ms Medhurst said that more people get referred to the foodbank in the New Year.

She said: "We get a lot of donations during harvest festival and in the run-up to Christmas, those donations really help see us through the quieter times.

"This time of year, we get a lot of donations from schools and businesses but donations will drop definitely in January.

"We couldn't do what we do without the donations from our community."

Peter Woodman, from Bracknell Foodbank, said it was "very busy during the festive period".

"We see people coming in, you can see how distressed they are and you just welcome them," he said.

"You explain things to them and you have professional people who help you there."

Lucy Martin, operations manager at Wokingham Foodbank, explained that volunteers had been helping to sort through the donations and "putting them into different sections in the warehouse" to prepare for quieter times.

She said: "Sorting donations involves putting them into different sections and areas so they know how many trays of pasta they've got, or rice, and we also have to date them.

"We never have food that's gone out of date, we rotate the stock and know what needs to be used next."

She said they were hopeful there was enough food but donations were "always needed".

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