Organisers of the Lewes all-day food banks collection declares 'social emergency' as usage numbers rapidly soar

On Saturday (October 1), volunteers held all-day food collections outside the town’s Aldi, Tesco and Waitrose, after it had seen a 14% increase in the number of family referrals since the start of 2022.

Anna Scott, Administrator of Malling Food Bank, provides some startling figures: "The cost of living crisis has seen an increase of 14% for family referrals and a 31% increase for single household referrals since the start of the year."

The foodbanks of Fitzjohns, Landport and Ringmer Village have also reported a rising demand for their provisions.

Lewes FC Supporters Club, Cycle Lewes, South Street Bonfire Society, Eastgate Baptists, Kings Church, Lewes Quakers and the cast of St Mary's Panto all joined together outside the Tesco on Brookes Road to support and collect for the town’s food banks.

Emma Quinton, member of the South Street Bonfire Society, said: "Bonfire is about coming together as a community and the foodbank collection is an extension of this."

Meanwhile outside Waitrose, a parade of Lewes sports clubs joined the collection including football, cricket, tennis, hockey and squash.

Jo-Anne Sunderland Bowe, chair of Lewes Rugby Club Mini and Juniors, spoke about what supporting food banks means to the club: "Being part of the Foodbank collection is us giving back to the community, and raising awareness of the need to our club's wider membership.”

At Aldi, members of the local Green, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties joined representatives of Lewes Rotary Club and the Depot Cinema to help collect for the cause.

Mark Perryman, pioneer of the collection and originator of the social emergency declaration, said: "We need to address the severity of food poverty in our town, the social emergency which shows every sign of getting worse.

"That means finding ways to mobilise every part of our community which is what our collections achieve."

All three collections resulted in 9,263 items of food collected including tins, bottles and packets of cereal. These were specifically requested by the foodbanks as requiring minimum electricity or gas to prepare.

Mark said: “This was our very practical way of declaring and responding to a social emergency. Because what can be more distressing than any household in our community worrying if they have enough money to cook a hot meal through the cold winter months?"

The collectors will be back on Saturday, December 10 for what the organisers aim to make their biggest ever Christmas collection.

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Lewes District Council has recently launched a cost-of-living crisis fund and is inviting bids from voluntary, community and not-for-profit organisations for projects that address food resilience, advice services, tackling digital exclusion and green energy.

Awards of between £500 and £10,000 will support a wide range of initiatives, including foodbanks and community larders, cookery classes, pop up advice clinics, access to online services and options for cheaper, greener heating and energy.

Councillor Zoe Nicholson, deputy leader of the council, said: “This latest fund will deliver projects and services that can reach right across our communities, giving vital help and expert guidance to the greatest number of residents.”

The deadline for this first round of bids is midnight on 31st October 2022.