The Salvation Army has launched an urgent appeal to supermarkets, wholesalers, philanthropists and the corporate sector to help their biggest ever food donation drive.

The church and charity is seeking bulk donations of non-perishable food to feed those hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

While food banks across the UK received a very welcome boost from Morrisons’ recent pledge to provide £10 million in food, The Salvation Army is warning that this will not be enough to help the many thousands hit hardest by the impact of the pandemic and who are falling in between government support schemes.

The Salvation Army’s leader in the UK and Ireland, Commissioner Anthony Cotterill said: “I am so grateful to the pledges that the corporate sector and others have already made but so much more needs to be done to meet the rapidly growing need. Our foodbanks are braced for a double impact.

“Firstly, thousands are suddenly out of work and many will be visiting a food bank for the first time.

“Secondly, the lockdown while essential to protect lives is putting new pressures on families who will be making Universal Credit claims and waiting five weeks for a first payment in addition to delivery of the first of the Government’s new food vouchers if their children receive free school meals.”

The Salvation Army has transformed its response to ensure it is directly reaching those hit the hardest by the coronavirus.

The charity’s foodbanks are expanding, and they are also using our local networks to reach people who can no longer feed themselves or their families and are cut off from other sources of help.

Homeless day centres are now offering doorstep health advice and food parcels, while nighttime soup runs are delivering hot food at a safe distance from our emergency response vehicles.

Anthony added: “Based at the heart of many local communities, we are ideally placed to get food to those who need it most but until we can secure large supplies of food, we simply cannot respond to everyone.

“This is an unbearable situation where more and more desperate people are reaching out to us as we are watching our stocks run low.

“To meet the growing need we are today asking for industrial quantities of dried foods, tins and other non-perishables.”

The charity are urgently looking for donations of pasta, pasta sauces, tinned fruit, soup, tinned meat and UHT milk to help families in need.

If you are a decision-maker in the supermarket or wholesale industry and are able to help, contact procurement@salvationarmy.org.uk, or if you or your company are in a position to give financial support to enable the church and charity to purchase supplies of food, contact major.gifts@salvationarmy.org.uk.