Food bank struggles after drastic drop in donations despite demand rising in wake of London floods

By Jacob Phillips, Local Democracy Reporter

Kensington and Chelsea Food Bank has seen a drastic drop in donations since lockdown – despite more people using the service.

Donations are down by one third but the food bank is struggling to cope with an increased demand in the wake of the London floods.

The food bank is in desperate need of basic items such as deodorant, long-life milk and coffee after torrential rains left Notting Hill residents waist-high in water.

Food bank organiser and St Helen’s Ward councillor Portia Thaxter has raised concerns about donations being forgotten as the world reopens.

She said: “A lot of people are suffering from mental health issues or are homeless or jobless.

“Since the lockdown has ended it has gotten worse. A lot of people are not donating like they used to.”

At the height of the pandemic Kensington and Chelsea Food Bank was seeing 40 to 50 people receiving donations each day.

Now roughly 100 people use the food bank each week but donation numbers are dropping leading to empty shelves at its storage unit.

Previously, Cllr Thaxter and her colleagues saw a large number of donations including vans full of deliveries from supermarkets.

However, now the food bank urgently needs toiletries such as shower gel, shampoo and toilet paper, and is also short on honey, jam, cooking oil, fruit juice and pasta sauces.

Cllr Thaxter is calling for residents and organisations to continue to support the food bank following flooding across the borough, which has led to an increase in food bank users.

She said: “I think people’s needs have increased. We have been through Grenfell, the pandemic and now through floods.

“Donations have started getting smaller and smaller as the lockdown stopped.”

The councillor tweeted an appeal for support towards the food bank on August 8 but there has not been a donation since.

The Kensington and Chelsea Food Bank takes donations on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 10am and 2pm at Notting Hill Methodist Church.

Pictured: Councillor Portia Thaxter at Kensington and Chelsea Food Bank