Rocketing demand at Stratford Foodbank means it urgently needs new home as it outgrows Fred Winter Centre base

THE team behind Stratford foodbank has launched an urgent appeal to help them find a new home.

Demand for its services has rocketed, so the foodbank urgently needs a bigger space than its current base within the Fred Winter Centre.

Foodbank manager Kate Morris and her colleagues have been searching for new premises for eight months with no success, and she says things are now “critical”.

Their existing space is 219 sq m (2,400 sq ft) but they ideally need somewhere 50 per cent larger, that’s in the centre of town.

The foodbank doesn’t just help with food – it also connects people with many other agencies such as Citizens Advice or housing teams and housing associations, to help tackle the underlying causes of their situation.

Having enough room for the vital face-to-face part of its work is crucial, so that when people come to collect food parcels they can be welcomed with a hot drink and a confidential chat with the foodbank team and other support agencies.

It’s too cramped to do this from the Fred Winter foyer, so the foodbank has shifted the face-to-face part of its operation out to other venues including Bishopton Community Centre, the Ken Kennett Centre, the Escape Arts Heritage Centre and Meon Vale village hall.

The new premises also need to be big enough for a warehouse area with racking or shelving to store donated food and an office where staff can work out of.

Ms Morris told the Herald: “Demand for our services has increased dramatically and unfortunately our current location at the Fred Winter Centre is no longer big enough.

“We’ve been searching for most of this year but I don’t think we’ve been banging our drum loudly enough – we need to flush out something that’s not yet on the market, or perhaps someone might have an empty space they haven’t decided what to do with yet.”

Between January and December last year, Stratford Foodbank distributed 5,261 emergency food parcels to people referred by local support agencies. By the end of July this year, the total had already topped 3,000 parcels.

A third of those the foodbank helps are children.

Ms Morris added: “The foyer at Fred Winter is too small and it’s not possible to have confidential conversations there.

“Unfortunately, the number of people needing help is still rising month-on-month – we are not over the hump yet. That’s why we’re asking everyone – residents and businesses – to keep an eye out for anywhere that could provide a new home for us.”