Kathy is on site at Rye Foodbank in the Baptist Hall, Cinque Ports Street, assisting manager Chris with preparation for opening.
Rye Foodbank has seen a 300% increase in the need for food parcels in the past few weeks, at the same time as losing many volunteers who have to isolate due to their age. She shares with us what it is like to work there:
Early Morning (Tuesday)
“Arrive at the food bank and set up for the day, including checking stock, the availability of boxes for packing, and checking client vouchers.
A grocery delivery arrives, couriered by drivers who are supporting us by offering volunteers for collection/delivery work. Between us, the driver and I unload a ton and a half (literally not figuratively, the food bank weighs all food in and out) of pasta sauce, tuna, rice pudding, beans, etc. If you are finding this hard to picture, try imagining 3,750 cans of beans!
This might sound like a lot of food, but we will now receive this quantity every week – it’s one of many donations we receive that enables us to continue.
Late morning
Two other volunteers arrive for the day. Today we have three, plus Chris. We could always use more, but have had to limit numbers to make sure we can all keep our distance from each other in the small space we are using.
The volunteers are all experienced, helping since before Covid-19 started, so know how things work and are trained in our new procedures for delivery. We weigh stock and move it to the tables in category groups for ease of packing.
Afternoon
Time to make sure all orders are packed and labelled correctly for delivery. I explain to different parties about special dietary requirements and, if people have particular food intolerance or dietary needs, we do our best to meet them with what we have been donated.
People referred to the food bank wait outside to receive today’s parcels. The food bank is still open to people on Wednesday afternoons. The next two hours or so are spent checking vouchers and creating parcels and assisting those who have not been able to access a voucher. This will involve Chris asking for details and logging credentials onto the system.
Need for parcels has tripled in the last three weeks and today we receive 59 vouchers ranging from single people up to a family of seven. We pack food for 200 adults and 89 children.
Late afternoon
Confirm with volunteer drivers about tomorrow’s scheduled deliveries. Re-stock some shelves, plan the tasks for tomorrow’s volunteers and close down the food bank. We are all really grateful for the generosity shown by the local community. The consistent support we receive is truly amazing.
We all send a huge ‘Thank You’ to everyone who donates to Rye Foodbank. We really appreciate your support and that we are able to keep helping people in very difficult circumstances.
Please keep your donations coming. This week we need more meat products (corned beef, stew, hot dogs), vegan and vegetarian products, vegetables, soya milk and fruit. Everything is appreciated and directly benefits someone in need.
Donations of non-perishable, in-date tinned food can be received at the back of the Baptist Church in Cinque Ports Street in Rye on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10am until about 2pm and are very welcome.
Monetary donations can be sent to the Bexhill Food Bank Rye Branch at Barclays Bank, sort code 20-54-25, account number 83501116, the Jempson Foundation or cheques to Rye Food Bank c/o 24 North Salts, Rye. if you donate via the Jempson Foundation and are a taxpayer, gift aid can be applied, thereby increasing the value of the donation by 25% at no cost to the donor.
You can contact Rye Food Bank at ryefoodbank@gmail.com.
Image Credits: Mags Ivatts .