A volunteer group that helps hundreds of families in Sandbach struggling with food poverty has urged people to donate, saying the food it receives is “never enough” to meet demand.
The plea came after data from the Department for Work and Pensions showed that 7.5 million people — or 11% of the UK population — reported food insecurity in 2023/24, a rise from the 2021/22 figure of 4.7 million.
Ian Parsons, who has volunteered at Sandbach Food Pantry since it opened three years ago, said 310 families had been referred to the charity since it was established.
He said: “There’s always a need. It tends to be better at this time of year because of the harvest festivals at schools and churches, but the rest of the year we struggle.
“The public brings in donations, but it’s never enough to meet what we need to supply, so we do end up having to buy food, which is funded through grants.”
While Sandbach Food Bank supplies food parcels free of charge to people in need through referrals from GPs, housing associations or social services, Mr Parsons explained that the food pantry was a separate set-up.
He said: “The food bank is for short-term emergency purposes, for someone who has nothing in the house at all. People can usually get up to four food parcels within a six-month period.
“The food pantry is one step on from that. People pay a small amount — for example, families pay £5 each — and they can come and choose food up to a value of £25.
“It allows people to shop with dignity. They can choose what they want and feel like they’re giving something for it.”
While the pantry also operates on a referral scheme, he said people could use it as often as they like.
“We’ve had people with us for a few years now,” he said.
“People’s problems don’t necessarily go away once their four parcels are up for the food bank — we’re trying to bridge that gap.”
He explained that the food bank and food pantry, which both operate from The Wesley Centre, worked in harmony and shared donations.
While the food bank delivered between six and ten food parcels a week on demand, the pantry opened every Thursday for people to shop, he said.
“We pick up from three local Co-ops and Tesco in Crewe on a Wednesday night — things like bread, pastries and some vegetables that are past their best-before date. They are still fine to eat, but they can’t keep them on their shelves.
“We give those away to members and don’t include it in their allowance. We usually get about 50 families or individuals coming through the door every week, and we’ve had about 6,000 visits since we opened.”
Last month, he said the pantry had ten new referrals, which he felt was “quite high” and showed how need was increasing.
He said: “Year-on-year I’d say we see a 15% increase in the number of referrals, but it was more like 20–30% last year.
“We get a lot of young families, single mums and people in their 80s and 90s living on their own, really struggling with only their pension to rely on.”
As well as providing food, Mr Parsons explained that the pantry supplied toiletries and arranged drop-ins from members of other organisations such as Age UK, Citizens Advice and women’s support charities.
He said: “Some people really struggle to pay when they come, so we also do a ‘pay it forward’ scheme where people pay when they can.
“Although food is the main reason people come here, we get to know people, build relationships and try to see if there are other places we can signpost people to, such as the Household Support Fund.”
Cheshire East’s Household Support Fund is a one-off grant that can give those in crisis access to emergency money for food, energy bills, household essentials and white goods.
Mr Parsons said: “Sandbach is always thought of as an affluent town, so our challenge is how to reach the people who are really struggling and too proud or ashamed to ask for help.”
He said the food pantry and food bank always welcomed donations, particularly of tinned meats, fish, soups and beans, as well as pasta, sauces and cereal.
Drop-off donations can be made to the Wesley Centre, Nationwide Building Society and the Co-ops on The Hill and Price Avenue.
Monetary donations can be made at: unitymethodistchurchsandbach.org/foodbank.
Referrals to the food bank and food pantry can be accessed by speaking to a GP, school, social worker, housing association or local councillor.
For more information, email sandbachfoodbank@gmail.com.
