Charity 's demand for food services rocket

A charity has reported that the amount of food it has delivered to vulnerable people in the last year has increased by a staggering 267 per cent.

The jaw dropping figures have been released by FareShare Midlands, which re-distributes surplus and donated food to charities and community groups such as foodbanks, day centres and hostels.

In April last year FareShare East Midlands and FareShare West Midlands joined forces to become FareShare Midlands, the biggest FareShare centre in the UK.

The merger allowed the charity to bring together resources and expand their operations to reach even more people impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since the merger the charity has taken on a new warehouse in Nottingham and expanded their site in Birmingham to keep up with demand.

They estimate they are now supporting around 50,000 people every week, providing enough food for 350,000 meals each week.

Simone Connolly, director of FareShare Midlands said: “We 'd planned a merger between East and West Midlands before news of Covid-19 hit, but when the pandemic emerged and the scale of need became evident it became more important than ever.

“Bringing our resources together has meant we 've been able to scale up what we do, take on new premises, staff and volunteers, and supply our charity members with the food they need to support their local communities during this challenging year.

“We 're incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported us - our team of volunteers who have gone above and beyond, and everyone who has made a donation to help our efforts. Unfortunately the need for food is not falling, despite lockdown measures being eased, and we 're committed to doing all that we can to continue to get food to those who need it. ”

Pictured: The FareShare team gathering food packages