Due to the ongoing pandemic, demand at S6 Foodbank has sadly hit an all-time high. Here The Milestone Group’s commercial business manager Beth Green shares her work with the inspirational team – and calls on Sheffield businesses to help them tackle the crisis
Over the last two years, I’ve worked with project manager Chris Hardy and the S6 Foodbank through the partnership we set up with The Milestone Group – pledging to donate 20,000 meals a year, as well as ongoing support with donations from ticket sales for workshops and events, instant donations from guests via our app, and volunteering at the foodbank itself.
Throughout our partnership, we found that the foodbank supports every walk of life – everyone who visits has to be referred and the stories of how people have found themselves now needing the foodbank’s support have been really eye-opening. It’s predicted that individuals on an annual salary of more than £40,000 could be just two pay cheques away from finding themselves in food poverty – and that was before the pandemic.
Sadly, due to the ongoing pandemic, demand for the S6 Foodbank has now hit an all-time high, supporting more than 300 families and going through eight tonnes of food a week – increasing as the weeks go by. Last year they supplied 90 tonnes of food, but now in the last three months alone they’ve already supplied 80 tonnes! The foodbank predominantly covers the north of Sheffield but have also had to step in to cover eight further foodbanks across the centre and north of the city, as the existing ones have been unable to handle the demand.
As well as changing the ways it works to adapt to the current climate – the foodbank is now a warehouse to sort and distribute food from – the team rely on people and businesses’ generosity to help deliver food across the city. The current smaller team are working around the clock to make this happen, as a lot of the previous volunteers are now having to self-isolate.
Yet Chris’ passion and commitment to the foodbank is inspiring – he always has a smile on his face, when he must feel like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. But this shouldn’t be Chris or the foodbank’s battle alone. It’s all of ours as a city – we shouldn’t have this crisis on our doorsteps. One thing Sheffield is good at is supporting each other and hopefully, by working together, we can reduce this need in our community.
If you can help in anyway, whether that’s individually or as a business, to increase the awareness of the foodbank, donate some of the needed items, spare any finances if you’ve found yourself saving money from your commute or not going out (to any of our Milestone Group venues!), or come down to volunteer or help with links to any suppliers – it would be hugely appreciated.
It’s devastating what’s happening in the world with COVID-19 affecting us all and our businesses in so many different ways, but to know families and individuals are worrying about where their or their children’s next meal is coming from (or even if they’ll have one) on top of this pandemic, is truly heart-breaking.
Web: www.sheffields6.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/volunteer/
Tel: 0114 321 0733
Email: s6foodbank@ncsheffield.org
