As we reach the end of a difficult and testing winter, the team at Exmouth Food Bank wish to thank the residents and community of Exmouth, Budleigh Salterton, East Budleigh, Otterton, Lympstone, Exton, Woodbury, Woodbury Salterton, and all the surrounding local areas for your ongoing support and donations. Your commitment to supporting us throughout the two years of the pandemic has been truly humbling and inspiring, enabling us to sustain our support to local people in food crisis.

Each week at Exmouth Food Bank we have been supplying free emergency food to our clients as well as providing guidance on how they can access appropriate professional support and advice. We actively liaise with other local agencies such as Citizens Advice, Open Door, and East Devon District Council, as well as GP surgeries and NHS professionals, in order to assist individuals to access the practical help they need to address the underlying issues causing financial hardship.

Exmouth Journal: Volunteers packing supplies at Exmouth Food BankVolunteers packing supplies at Exmouth Food Bank (Image: Exmouth Food Bank)

During the first year of the pandemic, demand for help from Exmouth Food Bank rose by over 4 per cent when compared to previous years. Such demand continued throughout 2021 when we provided 2177 food parcels feeding 4405 people. Demand has increased yet further during the first two months of 2022. During January and February we have already distributed 462 parcels to feed 933 people.

Exmouth Journal: Shelves of supplies at Exmouth Food BankShelves of supplies at Exmouth Food Bank (Image: Exmouth Food Bank)

The increasing demand is sobering, caused in part by Covid-19, but increasingly by the rising cost of food, fuel, and utility bills. Many of our clients are working, but on the minimum wage and just can’t make ends meet every week. Others have caring responsibilities, housing problems, or physical and mental health issues, which have impacted on their lives. At Exmouth Food Bank we help each person or family in a fair and non-judgmental way, treating them as we would wish to be treated ourselves.

For me the most heartening aspect of the response to the pandemic has been seeing our community come together in different ways to support those in need throughout our local area. At Exmouth Food Bank we work together with a variety of organisations such as Open Door providing them with, for example, supplies for the Baby Bank they run. We have helped Littleham Community Fridge purchase a second-hand fridge and freezer. We are also working with Sea Change, located in Budleigh Salterton, supplying them with weekly food for the programme of cooking lessons they are running for the Afghan refugees.

There will be further opportunities for co-operation between agencies in the weeks and months ahead. The numbers needing help look set to continue to rise throughout 2022. The pending changes to the energy cap in April 2022, combined with higher housing costs and food prices, will further tighten household budgets.

Global political and economic uncertainty may only get worse due to the horrors of the war in Ukraine. We are yet to know how this tragedy will impact on all our lives across Europe in the months and years ahead. What seems certain however, is that the heart for community support initiatives which grew during the pandemic will need to continue beyond it.

At Exmouth Food Bank we will endeavour to keep supporting vulnerable people and families whatever the future brings. Please help us to continue doing this. You can visit our website at www.exmouthfoodbank.org.uk or our Facebook page for up to date information on the items we most need.

Thank you all for your outstanding and continuing support.