The Stowmarket foodbank has now been running for 7 years, during that time we have seen the work of the foodbank expand & evolve in order to keep up with demand & support families & individuals in crisis. During this current crisis the foodbank is not only meeting the needs of people in poverty & low income but those who are vulnerable & self isolating & families with children not receiving free school meal vouchers. We were already helping 70 families & individuals each month with much needed food parcels to support them in times of crisis such as unemployment, bereavement, victims of crime & family breakdown etc. Demand for parcels during March has reached 125. This equates to approx. 375 people which is over 3 tonne of food. This has put pressure on our stocks as the donations of food has not matched the demand due to buying restrictions. We are expecting the need for help & food parcels to increase as the crisis continues & we need to ensure we have stock to meet demand.