A BOURNEMOUTH food bank has doubled the number of food parcels it is handing out to “desperate” residents.

Volunteers at the Charminster-based Bournemouth Food Bank are now handing out around a tonne of food a week – helping up to 80 people who would otherwise be unable to feed themselves or their families.

This has doubled from a year ago and there is no sign of the crisis abating.

Manager Debbie Bramley said: “People are really desperate. Benefits have been cut recently, petrol and food have gone sky high and so people are really struggling.”

“I can give you a classic example. We helped a lady who had worked all her life, owned her own business with her partner and they had a largish family. They came to us because they couldn’t feed the kids. They owned their own business and times were hard, they were losing contracts and they really were struggling.

“They had never received benefits before. They came to us via a school, they weren’t sending the kids to school because they had no food to give them.

“People say ‘well they shouldn’t smoke or drink then’ and yes some do smoke and drink but they don’t all do that. A lot of people simply can’t pay the bills and make ends meet.

“They end up having to choose whether they feed their children or pay their bills.”

The food bank in Stewart Road relies on donations from members of the public, businesses and churches. They also receive financial donations which they use to buy food. There are more than 140 local organisations – including citizens’ advice bureaux, children’s centres, social workers, GP surgeries and churches – that are authorised to issue a food voucher.

People take their voucher along to the food bank and receive a food parcel appropriate to their family’s needs. The parcel is designed to last three days and is meant to be an emergency measure – if someone needs more than three food parcels in a short time, volunteers intervene to check they are getting all the official help and support they are entitled to.

Many of the people initially assisted by the food bank go on to become volunteers, gaining valuable life and work skills.

• It costs £20,000 a year just to keep Bournemouth Food Bank open and a further £200 a week is spent on supplementing the donations of food.

• The organisation has launched a fundraising scheme called the One Thousand Club and is seeking to find 1,000 people who will make a monthly donation of at least £2.50 a month.

• For more information about the service send an email to info@bournemouth foodbank.com

ANYONE CAN FALL ON HARD TIMES

ENGINEER Mark Savage, 35, a former BT manager, has used the Bournemouth Food Bank twice in the past couple of weeks.

He moved to West Howe from London and was living with his mother until problems of bullying and threats of violence forced him out of their council accommodation.

His mother has moved away and he is now in a hostel.

“At the moment I’m trying to survive on £80 every two weeks,” he said. “I’ve worked all my life and this whole situation is completely new to me. I had no idea how to get help, nobody volunteers information like that.

“Your situation can literally change overnight, it happens that quickly. The food bank has been a lifesaver for me, I was in a situation where I didn’t know what to do next.

“I would rather starve than turn to crime but you can see how some people go down that route.”