Food banks are hungry to find more volunteers

The group, which collects and hands out donated food to Oxford-based charities, has seen a sharp rise in the number of organisations it supports over the last few years.

Three years ago OFB, in North Hinksey Lane, worked with about 30 charities, but this number has now more than doubled to 65.

These charities include sheltered housing, schools and youth clubs.

Unlike emergency food banks, volunteers do not give food directly to individuals but offer it to charities to supply to those who they accommodate.

Most fresh food is donated from supermarkets and wholesalers, although the charity does receive some supplies from the public.

Operations manager Cathy Howard has volunteered at the food bank for three years.

She said although the role played by the service in feeding society’s most vulnerable was a vital one, it often disappeared under the radar.

She said: “Most people do become aware of us because of the work we do in reducing food waste.

“We help charities to save money on their costs, as they will usually only have enough funding for their core activities.

“I would like to see an increase in the amount of food we collect and give out to them, but it is hard to find volunteers.”

OFB has about 100 volunteers who work three hours a week to collect, sort and transport food.

Miss Howard said the food collected every year has a commercial value of £1m, but OFB only received £50,000 in funding.

It does not receive any financial support from the city council, instead relying on funding from The Co-operative, the Rotary Club of Oxford, and public donations.

For every £1 that OFB receives in donations, it will hand over £20 worth of food to charities.

Fran Gardner, community worker at Rose Hill junior youth club, takes deliveries every week from the food bank.

She said: “We have about 100 children visit us and we have to cook around 120 meals every week.

“Without the support of the food bank we wouldn’t be able to cook the number of meals we have to do.”

Miss Howard, from Didcot, added: “If anyone can spare three hours a week to help volunteer, we will always need help, whether that’s collecting food or driving one of our vans.”

People who would like to volunteer are encouraged to contact OFB for more information, and can also set up a standing order on the website if they want to donate money.

Meanwhile, food banks across Oxfordshhire are expecting a surge in people needing support following Chancellor George Osborne’s latest budget.

Project manager of Bicester’s Foodbank Janet Ray said she thought more people in need of food would soon start visiting the Market Square centre.

She spoke out after Chancellor George Osborne announced £12bn of welfare cuts on July 8.

Mrs Ray, of Saxon Court, said: “We are seeing more people coming back now. I think foodbanks are a lifeline at the moment.

“I think there are people that should be coming that don’t come because they are embarrassed.

“And there are people out there that we are missing.”

• Learning the ropes: Reporter Kieran Davey with Oxford Food Bank volunteer Jude Carroll

Mrs Ray said the food bank, which first opened in 2006 and moved from its former Minton Place base last year, saw a “sharp rise” in the number of visitors between 2013 and 2014.

The mother-of-two said within the first year of opening, about 500 people stepped through the food bank’s doors but now about 3,500 people come for support each year. Mrs Ray said the biggest problem residents using the foodbank faced was low income, with many families struggling to get by on zero hour contracts, or with part-time work.

The Chancellor revealed earlier this month, the income threshold for tax credits will be reduced from £6,420 to £3,850, with tax credits and universal credit restricted to two children per family from 2017 and a National Living Wage of £9 per hour by 2020.

Mrs Ray said she was concerned welfare cuts would impact on families in Bicester who were already struggling to get by and did not think a national living wage was “beneficial”.

The 76-year-old added: “I think the cost of living would have risen so much that that £9 won’t be worth much more.

“We have got another five years to go. I think in five years’ time £9 will only be worth what you can buy for £6 now.”

* Visit oxfordfoodbank.org

BEHIND THE SCENES

• Helping out: Reporter Kieran Davey helps load a van with donated food for delivery as he volunteers at Oxford Food

To find out more about how food banks works, I spent a morning with Oxford Food Bank volunteers dropping off food supplies to charities across Oxford, writes Kieran Davey.

After loading the day’s supplies into the van, we set off to face the rush-hour traffic through the city centre.

During the morning we visited eight charities, including after-school clubs, church accommodation and sheltered housing. 

At each stop the van doors would be opened up to staff from the charities who then chose what food they wanted for that week.

I quickly leant that when given a choice of what food the charities wanted, the focus was often on what was most healthy and easy to cook for residents. 

Jude Carroll, a volunteer at OFB since the start of this year, said: “There is a certain value on some of the food we give out, but many charities are willing to take more green vegetables because they want their residents to eat healthily.”

Volunteers will typically collect about five tonnes of fresh food each week, and this can provide up to 1,500 meals a day.

And as you would expect, it is essential for all this fresh food to be given away during each shift.

While some charities were certain about what food they were looking for, some were more willing to be persuaded to try new ingredients.

Cathy Howard, operations manager at OFB, said: “Volunteers are told just to get rid of the food, but it is important to target the people who they know will make the best use of it.

 “A lot of relationships are built up between those who work at the charities and those who drive the vans round.

“We know the work we do does make people happy.”