Gleadless Food Bank has just two weeks of stock left: 'Donating even a tin of beans makes a difference'
A Sheffield food bank says it has just two weeks worth of stock left in the face of inflation and shrinking donations - to the point it is now facing closure.
Thousands of deprived people every year in Sheffield could be left with even fewer places to turn to if the worst should happen at Gleadless Valley Food Bank, on Blackstock Road.
Now, the hand-up-not-a-hand-out branch is urging Sheffield to donate anything they can - from a pack of toiletries to a can of beans - to keep the charitable hub from closing for good.
“There’s no point in having a food bank if we’ve got no food,” says manager John ‘Jock’ Stevenson.
“It doesn’t take much to make a difference - even a tin of beans in your weekly shop and put in the box at the supermarket is a tin of beans that could feed someone.”
How can I make a difference? Where can I donate to Gleadless food bank?
Gleadless Valley Food Bank operates drop boxes for donations at Tesco Superstore on Abbeydale Road and Morrisons in Meadowhead.
The food bank is also holding a food drive at Tesco Superstore on Abbeydale Road on Friday, September 5, and at Morrisons in Meadowhead on Monday, September 15.
Gleadless Food Bank also has a webpage as well as a Facebook profile where visitors can donate so the charity can afford supplies.
Jock said: “I will pick up food donations from anywhere in Sheffield if it is available.”
Supplies can also be donated directly at the food bank at 189 Blackstock Road, in the Gaunt Shopping Centre.
Items in high demand include:
- Tinned tomatoes
- Spaghetti
- Vegetables & fruit
- Tinned potatoes
- Tinned meat
- Dried coffee
- UHT Milk
- Biscuits
- Toiletries
- Dog food
Why are stocks at the food bank so low?
Jock says years of inflation at every level has led to a sharp decline in donations in the last six months, to the point he is unable give visitors as much as they need.
The manager said: “We’ve got maybe two weeks left of stock on the shelves - six months ago, we had three to five times that much.
“Food prices are up 25 per cent in the past year. People buying food have to keep it for themselves and aren’t putting it in the box.
“Then people come to the food bank because they can’t afford their bills, and I find where I would have given them two tins of this or a bag of that, I can now only give them one.
“All the while, more people are using more food banks than ever, and less people are donating. It’s a vicious cycle.
“And I know it’s not just this food bank that is struggling. They are struggling everywhere. If they close, it will be a disaster.
“I still want anyone who needs a food bank to come forward. There’s nothing to be ashamed about. I would rather people came and got food than not come at all because they are embarrassed.”
Jock joined the Gleadless Valley Food Bank team in 2010 after he used its services himself.
He said: “After the banks collapsed in 2008, there were at most half a dozen food banks in the UK. Now, there are more food banks than McDonald’s in the the county.”
There are currently estimated to be over 1,450 McDonald’s in the UK, and an estimate 2,800 food banks.
“It’s terrible that in Great Britain in 2025 there are people that destitute,” said Jock.
“The solution I want to see is Government grants. The Government has cut and cut and cut - they rely on food banks but never donate or give any more towards them. They’ve relied of people’s charity to feed the poor, but now it’s too expensive for people to be charitable.
“Governments are ashamed of Government services send people to food banks but won’t recognise them or admit why they exist. They’re ashamed of food banks and yet they rely on them.”