Not so many years ago, a lot of us were unfamiliar with the term foodbank.
But today the UK has more foodbanks than McDonald’s restaurants – and more than two million people use them.
And that figure is set to grow as the cost of living crisis bites – leading the York Foodbank to appeal for more volunteers this summer.
The York Foodbank website shows that the average York city rent is an eye-watering £1,187 per month and one in five people are below the poverty line.
No wonder demand for foodbank services is soaring.
The York Foodbank is part of The Trussell Trust and FareShare project, and it has spent the last ten years working with local Tesco supermarkets to collect food.
Volunteers are needed to help out at collection points in Tesco’s bigger stores from June 30 to July 2. Customers will be invited to donate long-life food to help the York Foodbank provide food parcels to people facing financial hardship.
As the friendly face of the foodbank, volunteers will speak to customers, encourage donations, and help get the right items to the right places.
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Tesco will generously top up all the food donated during the collection with an additional 20% cash donation to the charities to support them in their work.
York Foodbank manager Adam Raffell said:
We know that in York too many families will be forced to use a foodbank over the coming months because they are unable to afford life’s essentials.
Supporting the Tesco Food Collection this summer by volunteering could make all the difference to your local food bank during this busy period.
You could donate a couple of hours of time and volunteer during the collection or you could donate food to your local Tesco donation point.
People can find more about the collection and sign up to volunteer here.
If you need help please visit the York Foodbank website here.