FOODBANKS across the Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch area have been experiencing a mass shortage following the busiest summer they have experienced and looking for donations to help vulnerable families.

Due to the increasing constraints of universal credit, more and more families are being referred to the foodbanks and with children not receiving their free school meals, families on low income are being put under increasing pressure.

Tracy Blick, manager of the Christchurch Food Bank Plus, said: “We have fed over 800 people through the summer school Holiday Hunger scheme, and two thirds of them have been children

“These people are given no provision or help with things like hot meals, so the six weeks of summer holiday is a real struggle for these families.

“It’s not just people on universal credit, we are getting working families who simply don’t earn a big enough wage to pay for food for their family.

“We have one lady whose husband works such a poorly paid job that they struggle to get food together for their kids in the holidays when there is no food provided by their school. Some mums who usually have second or third jobs have to stop them during the summer because they need to look after their kids.”

“I’ve met up with the other foodbanks at Wimborne, Poole, Bournemouth, Ringwood and Kinson and West Howe and they are all experiencing the same thing.

Bournemouth Foodbank are also feeling the pressure as they have distributed 2,030 extra lunch boxes and 286 extra food parcels throughout the 6 weeks of the school holidays.

Families have resorted to withholding information from the Department of Work and Pensions about changes in their funding until their children go back to school.

Tracy continues: “We know families who are waiting to appeal for a difference in funding because as their request is being processed, their funding will be stopped for five or six weeks and, over the summer holidays, that’s when they need it most.

“They will wait until the kids go back to school and are able to have their free school meals before telling the authorities.”

Food banks are pleading to people to donate staple dry store food items that would prove invaluable to low income families.

“The best things to donate are UHT milk, cereal, tins, potatoes, carrots, peas, fruit, tinned hotdog sausages, tinned tuna, tinned tomatoes, rice and biscuits,” said Tracy.

“People are able to donate at any of our Situ Foodbank boxes at Sainsburys Christchurch, Waitrose Christchurch or St Joseph’s Church in Purewell Christchurch. They can also email us at christchurchfoodbank@gmail.com or ring us on 07587371088.”