SALISBURY Foodbank is experiencing “unprecedented demand” with stock levels of some items reaching “critical" levels as more people turn to the charity for support.

Maria Stevenson, the manager of Salisbury Foodbank, says the charity has been “exceptionally busy” with more demand seen over the months of March and April which is expected to continue.

In March and April, the foodbank saw more peope than it “ever has before” over two consecutive months which Maria said was making the charity “start to worry for the first time in a very long time about our stock levels in our foodbank warehouse”.

In March, Salisbury Foodbank supported 531 people and in April 556. Complete figures were not available for May yet but Maria said these had not slowed down.

“Our historic foodbank demand outside of Covid we would have a high January and then we’d dip into summer and then go back up in winter – a bit like our fuel bills. That is a typical trend for foodbanks. However, this year we’ve really bucked the trend. Month-on-month we’ve been supporting more and more people – almost double in April 2022 versus what we supported in 2021. That has taken us quite by surprise and is a bit of a worry.”

Maria says support during Covid has been taken away as well as the rising cost of living has impacted on people with increases in fuel bills, which would hit people again in October when the cap is increased, in addition to rising costs for food and petrol/diesel, which were all having a “knock on effect”.

“It is quite a local problem here. The cost of living generally in Salisbury is quite high,” explained Maria, who says generally wages are low. “It is a combination of everything really.”

The increase in demand has also hit the foodbank’s stock levels. It aims to ensure it has a three month supply of items. But Maria says a third of its products are below the one-month stock level and were in “critical” status.

The key items the foodbank is running low on at the moment are tins of tomatoes, potatoes, fish and fruit, rice pudding and custard, long life milk and juices, and tea bags.

“We’re pretty much hand-to-mouth with these eight products as soon as they come in the door they go out the door,” said Maria who said donors had been “fantastic” in their support but this was a “new, unprecedented demand” on the foodbank adding: “We just need to plug that extra gap.”

Maria said “We are seeing a change in the people we are seeing. We’re seeing more single people accessing support than we had previously especially during Covid.”

The charity is also seeing more people that are in work in need of support who are “struggling to make ends meet”.

“We’re looking at how we can spread our coverage so we are operating outside of working hours because we are quite conscious that we are not capturing everybody that needs are support,” said Maria.

Salisbury Foodbank is also working with other charities and organisations across the city to support those in need.

It has also launched a food fund where people can donate money to purchase items. Visit: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/SalisburyFoodbankFoodFund

“It is a great community spirit we have in Salisbury and we know everybody will rally around. We just need to shout really loud that we are struggling with these key products at the moment,” said Maria, who urges anyone in need of help and advice to get in touch.

She added: “We are able to support people. We do have food, we just need to keep on top of our donations and keep making a noise about our donations so that we have the right balanced diet to give to people that need the support.”

For more information about Salisbury Foodbank visit the charity's website.