LOCAL foodbanks, which are having to deal with a demand which has soared by up to 450 per cent since the first lockdown, are finding that many regular donors of food and funds are now shielding in their homes and unable to contribute, foodbank organisers reported this week.

They are waiting to see what effect the current lockdown will have on demand, which is currently very high.

“There was a significant rise last lockdown and we doubled what we normally sent out,” said West Somerset Food Cupboard co-ordinator Ann Gibbs. “I expect there will be an increase the longer we are in lockdown this time.”

Other foodbanks report that supplies are holding steady even though people who normally donate were having to shield.

The Quantock Foodbank, which operates out of Watchet and covers the Quantock area from Carhampton to Stogursey, told the Free Press that demand was very high and had remained so since the previous lockdown.

“At the start of the last lockdown it shot up 450 per cent – and has stayed that way,” said co-ordinator Marlene Mason.

For the full story see this week’s West Somerset Free Press.