It seems like every week there is an article on the national or local news about food banks. Most of the time it is about food banks in crisis, food banks overwhelmed by demand and so on. We face our own challenge and that is “fake news”.
Within the last week I have heard that we are closing. We are moving out of our Bishops Waltham home. We don’t have enough food to meet the demand on our service. We have run out of cash. None of this is true.
Through the amazing generosity of our local communities, who have set up food collection systems, we have been able to cope quite well with a fourfold increase in demand. We have simplified our operations and moved to online referrals. We are also undertaking home deliveries in order to minimise the potential exposure of our volunteers and our clients to the virus.
So, thank you to everyone who continues to contribute food, time and money. We are extremely grateful for all you do.
If you hear a rumour about the food bank, please contact me and I would be pleased to update you on what we are doing to serve the needs of people within the Meon Valley.
Mike Salter
Chairman