Working hard to provide food and help to those in crisis

Run by one part time coordinator and six volunteers, Okehampton Food Bank is an independent service working to combat food insecurity in and around Okehampton. Last year Okehampton distributed more than 2500 food parcels to families experiencing food insecurity. The food bank, stationed at Okehampton Baptist Church (OBC) on Fore Street, is open to all on Fridays between 10am and noon. 

It was in 2011 that Okehampton Food Bank found itself at the centre of helping those in crisis. Following the closure of desserts firm Polestar, Robert Wiseman Dairy and Sprung Slumber mattress factory more than 300 people lost their jobs affecting 20% of the population of Okehampton. The call for donations then rocketed from one or two parcels a week to between 40 and 50 in the same period. 

Even before the pandemic, the number of food parcels distributed by the Trussell Trust, the largest Food Bank organisation in the UK had increased 74 per cent in five years, to a record 1.9-million parcels in the year to the end of March 2020. Three-million people in the UK went hungry in the early weeks of the Covid pandemic. Disrupted earnings, lock down and reduced supply chains forced more and more people to turn towards their local food bank for help. Even with the emergency cash injection from central government and mortgage payment breaks, the record-breaking surge in redundancies across the country, up to 314,000 in the third quarter of 2020, meant that food banks were struggling to keep up.  

Malcolm Hamilton, coordinator of Okehampton Food Bank, said it was thanks to the volunteers that the service was able to meet demand during this time. 

‘Okehampton Food Bank is blessed to have a wonderful team of volunteers working full time in the church, carrying on the important work of providing emergency food parcels to those in need during the Covid 19 pandemic. The pandemic forced more and more local families, many with young children into food insecurity.  At its height, Okehampton Food Bank was distributing food to over 40 families a week. 

‘However, it is too convenient to say Covid is to blame. The underlying problem is simple; people’s incomes aren’t enough to cover the cost of living. UK inflation made its biggest jump on record in August 2021, adding to pressure on households as the government ramps up taxes on workers and the removal of the £20 universal credit bonus. Today, one of the major reasons people turn to our Food Bank is the implementation of Universal Credit. Having to wait more than five weeks before any payment is having a detrimental effect on many low-income families.’ 

In Okehampton, the food bank has been funded by private donations of food and money although several local companies have been very generous with their giving. 

Malcolm added: ‘The use of food banks should be an emergency stopgap, but in Okehampton, we have people who have been using our food bank for a considerable time, certainly longer than the average of 12 weeks and this has surely compounded the issue of poor diet. So, at Okehampton Food Bank we are undergoing a process of improving the food we supply. We are keen to provide nutritionally balanced food: that is not difficult to prepare, but which provides most if not all the major food nutrients. Fresh meat and fish are obviously not something we can supply but, over the coming months, we will be working hard to redefine what our food parcels contain and ensure that a good proportion of fresh fruit and vegetables are included in every parcel we supply. 

‘Whilst in the past we have supplied enough food for three days we are also working towards supplying enough food for one week, where our Food Bank Families are able to collect from the church. In addition, we are considering opening our doors one evening a week, to support low-income families where one or both adults work full time during the day.’ 

If you need help in obtaining enough food to support your family or if you wish to volunteer with Okehampton Food Bank contact Malcolm on 07483877378 or email contact@okehamptonfoodbank.co.uk