Bury St Edmunds charity, Gatehouse foodbank, in critical stages as demand skyrockets while donations drop

A Bury St Edmunds foodbank charity is concerned for its future as demand for its services has drastically increased while donations have sharply dropped.

This summer, Gatehouse, based in Dettingen Way, has seen queues of around 25-30 people outside its premises every day as the cost-of-living crisis plunges more people into need.

CEO Amanda Bloomfield said supermarket donations were down by about 45 per cent, while the demand had more than doubled.

She added: “Demand is growing for all our services, both the foodbank and the Homestore, and people do queue every day that we open.

“We’re struggling at the moment because donations are down as the cost-of-living crisis affects those who donate as well as those who need the service, so it’s sort of a pinch effect.

“Going into the winter and Christmas we’re a little bit concerned about whether we’ll be able to meet the need, but we are trying our best to carry on all of the services that we’re doing at the moment.”

And she warned that if donations dried up completely the foodbank could close in two weeks.

Food and stock in the Homestore is being sought as quickly as it is being brought in.

Items that are particularly needed include bedroom furniture, household appliances like fridges and washing machines, and clothes – especially children’s coats.

“Summer is always a difficult time for people – it’s one of our peak times along with Christmas and winter, but this year there are more people struggling than ever before,” said Amanda.

According to Amanda, the charity sees about 400 people using the service every week, with more new faces.

Gatehouse said it was now hoping school and church harvest donations would see it through winter.

However, Amanda does anticipate that demand during autumn and winter will continue to be high.

“We’re expecting the need for food parcels to continue as we head into autumn and winter,” she said.

“People will be concerned about their heating and electric bills again, and those pressures will be building on them.”

“We hope to get the donations in, but there is a concern that we won’t be able to meet the need if the donations continue to drop as they have been.

“If we didn’t have any more donations we could probably only run the foodbank for another two weeks, so it is a difficult situation that we’re in at the moment.”

If things do not improve, Amanda said she would need to relook at the charity and focus in on particular resources. It may even need to implement further restrictions to ensure that those who are most in need receive the help.