A South Shields food bank is making a desperate appeal for donations as it struggles to keep its shelves stocked amid rising need.
Volunteers at Lucie's Pantry fear the soaring costs of food and fuel may mean fewer locals are able to afford to donate, while demand for the charity's help increases. The Dean Road food bank, run by Emmaus North East, allows members to pick out a full shop's worth of items for just £3, making it a lifeline for those struggling to feed themselves and their families.
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Donations of food, toiletries and household items usually come from locals, as well as charities and businesses. But Stuart Small, who runs the food bank, says he's been taking in less and less over recent weeks.
He said: "At first we had great support and quite a lot of donations coming through but in recent weeks and months donations have been dwindling away. We've got a few tins but if we don't get more donations in soon we are going to end up with people starving in the area.
"I would love to know why donations have dried up, I don't honestly know, the only thing I can think of is if it is to do with these rising costs, the rising costs of food and transportation. We are seeing demand increase because of it: on an average week I get about five new referrals.
"We have people coming in from all walks of life: people in work on low incomes, elderly people on pensions, people with disabilities, people on Universal Credit or Jobseekers' Allowance, you get all walks of life needing help.
"I am worried that things are going to get worse. If I'm seeing an extra five referrals a week that's 20 in a month.
"Quite often we have days when the shelves are almost empty. Receiving more food donations would mean that we could open the food bank for longer hours and help more families and households in need."
As well as offering low-cost food, Stuart said Lucie's Pantry also acts as a 'community hub', helping people overcome challenges and providing extra support such as debt advice.
The 39-year-old knows better than many people how valuable this sort of support can be. In the aftermath of loss of work and a relationship breakdown several years ago, he found himself homeless. He spent some time as an Emmaus Companion, living in accommodation offered by the charity, which allowed him to get back on his feet.
He now wants to 'give back' to the community that helped him turn his life around.
"They helped me get back on the straight and narrow, and I offered to run the foodbank. I'm grateful for what they've done for me which is why I'm putting back in to the community," he said.
"When you help people it's absolutely wonderful, I'm there to talk to people and be a support for them, and seeing them get what they need to survive the week is amazing."
Emmaus North East is appealing for fresh, dried, tinned and frozen food as well as toiletries, household items and baby products. Donation drop off points include Lucie’s Pantry, at 430 Dean Road, South Shields the Emmaus charity shop at 22 Market Square, South Shields and the Emmaus charity shop at Unit 5, St James Mall, Hebburn.
To become a member of Lucie’s Pantry, drop in, call 0191 489 90 01 or email pantry@emmaus-northeast.org.uk.
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