Chichester District Foodbank calls on residents for help as donations drop to five-year low

With donations at a five-year low, Chichester District Foodbank is calling on members of the public for help.

Speaking to the Chichester Observer, foodbank CEO Sarah Adams said this year’s shortfall comes with almost unprecedented demand, meaning staff at the Quarry Lane facility have been pushed to their very limit as they try to find food for almost 9,000 people across the district.

"Donations have been going downhill for a little while. It’s always seasonal, so we’ll always get a lot more food through from Christmas to January and then as the weather improves, we tend to get fewer donations,” she explained. “But now it’s getting to a ridiculous level, given that demand is also going up.”

She’s not exaggerating. Over the last few years, demand for the food banks all over the country has significantly increased. The Trussell Trust, the umbrella organisation associated with most of the foodbanks in the UK, reported a 37 per cent increase in demand nationwide between 2021/22 and 2022/23, and another 4 per cent increase from 2023 to 2024.

For Sarah, the reasons for the increase are clear: the cost of living crisis means money simply doesn’t go as far as it once did. "If you bought £10 worth of food for us last year, that £10 is going to buy less for us then it did last year. And chances are you can’t afford £10 anymore, so you’re buying £5 worth of food for us,” she said.

"There’s been a huge increase in demand, and we’ve had to be quite tight with food provision. Three years ago, over the school holidays, we were giving families on free school meals two boxes that would last the six weeks holiday, but we can’t sustain that anymore. Now it’s one box, with ten days worth of food to support them. We provide emergency vouchers to families that are really struggling, but we physically cannot provide enough food for everyone.”

For anyone who wants to help, the answer is simple: donate, wherever and however you can. There are donations points at most local supermarkets, but the team at Quarry Lane are also happy to accept donations in person. You can also visit the Chichester District Foodbank website, or donate via food bank donation app Bankuet.