Demand for free food doubles to support Dronfield families during Covid-19 crisis

Re-Store, which is run through Oaks Community Church in Dronfield, is now supplying food parcels to more than 100 families every week.

Janet Morton, who manages the service, said: “Before March we had 100 individuals on our books and in need of support.

"Now that has risen to 250, including families where children would otherwise go hungry without our support.”

The charity works with supermarkets to ensure that ‘near-its-sell-by-date’ food doesn’t get wasted.

Janet said: “But with the increase in demand, there have been days when we had nothing on the shelves and have had to turn people away.

“Our link with Dronfield Rotary Club and Rotary4foodbanks has been a real boost, ensuring that we always have something to include in the food parcels.”

The Rotary4Foodbanks scheme, run entirely by volunteers, is an East Midlands and South Yorkshire initiative which pools funds and bulk buys staple food supplies at wholesale prices which it distributes to foodbanks across the region.

By the end of August it will have distributed food with a wholesale value of around £100,000 and has plans to extend the scheme as demands on foodbanks continue to rise.

Janet picks up Rotary4foodbank stocks – coffee, tea, tinned fruit and cereals – by the pallet-load from a Sheffield warehouse. Her team of volunteers split it into individual parcels.

She said: “Previously people have come into our community food service, based at Lea Road in Dronfield and picked up what they need.

"Now, as part of social distancing and to safeguard our own team, they wait at the door while we pack parcels for them.”

Janet normally counts on 20 volunteers but with many of them elderly and shielding, the team is under more pressure than ever.

As the furlough system ends and redundancies increase, the demand for Re:Store’s service will rise still further.

Janet said: “We are committed to meeting the need, come what may.”