Milton Keynes Food Bank struggles to cope as demand surges but donations drop due to cost of living crisis

Donations to MK Food Bank have dropped dramatically as more and more people no longer have food to spare, the MK Citizen can reveal.

The rising cost of food and energy bills has meant far fewer people can afford to buy that extra item or two to pop into the Food Bank donation trolley at local supermarkets. As a result, the charity’s shelves are emptier than ever before.

But at the same time the demand for help has soared higher than ever before, as more and more people simply cannot afford to put food on the table.

Now, for the first time in its 18 year history, MK Food Bank is having to send its volunteers out to physically buy trolley loads of goods from supermarkets in a bid to ensure hungry local families are fed.

Over the past 18 months, the charity has supported an incredible 1 in 30 households in MK.

That equates to one child in every class, at least one family in every street or one person in most workplaces in the city.

Since the start of 2022 alone, MK Food Bank has given out 15,000 emergency food parcels. This is 30% more than this time last year. And every week, right now, 50 people are contacting the charity for the very first time because they have no money for food.

To continue to help all these people, the food bank needs your help. So this weekend they are organising an event that makes it super easy for tens of thousands of households in MK to give them that help.

The BIG Doorstep GIVE takes place this Saturday, September 24. All people have to do is go through their food cupboards, see what they can spare, and leave the items out on their doorstep for the food bank to collect.

Any non-perishable foodstuffs are welcome, but below is a list of items that are urgently needed:

Tinned meat

Tinned fish

Long life milk

Juice or squash

Spreads – jams, peanut butter, or chocolate spread

Tinned pasta

Pasta sauce

Biscuits

Tinned fruit

Dried rice – 500g or 1kg packets please

Rice pudding/custard

Tinned vegetables

Before you put the items out, please email MK Food Bank at [email protected] or WhatsApp them on 07874 964505 with your address and postcode.

"We can collect from anywhere with an MK postcode but you must tell us where you are,” said the charity’s Operations Manager Louisa Hobbs. “We’ll reply with a time slot that a volunteer collection driver will be in your area.

“Before your allocated slot, place your donations of long-life food in a clearly visible spot on your doorstep… Please share this event and spread the word in any way you can.”

The food bank plans to hold a Big Doorstep Give once a month to tide it through the Winter months. Dates and details can be found on their Facebook page.

"Together we can fill our shelves and ensure we can continue to support anyone in need in Milton Keynes,” said Louisa.

"The Food Bank relies entirely on donations of food and money from local schools, churches, businesses, organisations and individuals and every single item or penny given makes a HUGE difference. There are a number of ways that you can support MK Food Bank either by food donations, cash donations or by fundraising for us,” she added.

Details of how to help can be found on the MK Food Bank website.