A food bank in County Durham is appealing for help after running out of meal packages to give to families in need amid the crippling cost of living crisis.
Dawn Willson, who runs the County Durham Community Clothing Bank and Food Pantry, said they had one tin of beans left on Tuesday after running out of stock. She said she has seen a huge increase in people needing help including those who are employed and even Ukrainian families.
The clothing bank has been going since 2014 but when they moved premises Dawn also set up a food pantry in April after seeing a huge need in the area. Dawn said they have been extremely busy since opening because of how much prices are going up leaving some families unable to put food on the table.
Read more: DWP could stop your PIP payments if you go on holiday abroad this year - here's why
She said: "There was nothing in the area so we set up a food pantry in April. If you needed help you would have had to travel to a food bank in town but if you can't afford food, you can't afford a bus fare so people were walking a long way with heavy bags.
"We don't ask any questions, you don't have to explain yourself you just come in. We get people who are actually still working but who can't afford to pay their rent and put food on the table. Everything is going up but people's wages aren't and lots of people are really struggling.
"We are also finding a lot of Ukrainian families come to us who are going to some food banks and are being told to go to the DWP but they can't help. We had ten families come in on Tuesday. We just completely run out of food I think we had one tin of beans left."
Dawn said she has seen parents burst into tears at the food pantry and said people are often too embarrassed to ask for help. She said: "We have seen a father in complete tears, totally embarrassed to ask for help, we have seen people come in on their knees scraping the floor because there is nothing else they can do. It's absolutely heartbreaking. People are so ashamed to ask for help but they shouldn't be because that's what we're here for. We'll always be here.
"We have seen it with the clothing bank with parents coming in because they can't afford school uniforms and people on Universal Credit who have to wait weeks for money to come in, it's really hard. It's really difficult but it's worth it to know we're helping people."
In a bid to continue providing essential meal packages for those in need, Dawn set up a Go Fund Me page to try and raise as much money as possible and has already been blown away by people's generosity. She said: "Everything we give away is free and we rely on donations. We're not a charity, we're a community organisation so we have got no money behind us.
"I set up a Go Fund Me page and it just took off like wildfire. We've had people delivering food to us too, one man is coming from Easington Lane to drop off food so it's quite a distance. I was totally shocked, it just makes it worthwhile."
The food bank is open every Tuesday from 10am till 2pm at Flambard Hall, 26 Flambard Road, Framwellgate Moor, Durham, DH1 5HY. If you would like to help you can drop off food or you can donate to the Go Fund Me page here. If you need help you can call 07707 031625 or email: cdcommunityclothingbank@gmail.com.
Read next:
