Fears raised that people may be trying to abuse the system as Doncaster food banks see demand soar

Sean Gibbons, who runs Mexborough foodbank and the not for profit organisation Food Aware, which collects food to distribute to avoid it being wasted, says demand for foodbanks has soared.

But he also believes that there are people who are trying to double claim, by approaching more than one organisation and taking from both.

Mr Gibbons said Mexborough foodbank is currently providing 25 to 30 food parcels per week, and estimates that to be a rise of up to 40 per cent over the last two months.

Food Aware, which he set up and runs, supplies food to foodbanks in areas of Doncaster including Stainforth, Thorne, Balby, Hexthorpe, Intake and Edlington.

Mr Gibbons said: “From just before Christmas, I think we’ve seen a rise of 30 to 40 per cent in Mexborough, and I think we could be going through this for some time.

"I think there are more people struggling because there have been people on 80 per cent furlough wages for some time now, or have been finished at work.

"I know of working people, and people who can’t work at the moment, who are struggling.

He said the furlough scheme had also meant that the foodbank had seen some very highly skilled volunteers step forward to help. They have ranged from supermarket managers to airline pilots.

But Mr Gibbons, who is impressed by work of the foodbanks he works with, is concerned that some members of the public may be abusing the system by taking food from more than one food bank, and says he has anecdotal evidence.

He said: “There are more and more groups that we are supporting each week, with both food and personal hygiene supplies.

"I am concerned that there are certain people who take advantage. It’s difficult, because foodbanks are seeing increased demand, but I think there are people taking advantage of the service and volunteers. We try to make sure there are checks and balances in place to make sure people are genuine and not getting duplicate supplies.

“At Mexborough we use a system of referrals from organisations like the Citizens Advice Bureau or St Leger Homes, but I think some are run on self referral.”

He said he had heard reports of deliveries arriving at houses as deliveries from other food banks had been leaving.

He also praised some of the local organisations, including supermarket chains, for their donations of food that may otherwise have been thrown away, to foodbanks, as well as organisations that made financial donations.

"At the moment we’re quite well stocked,” said Mr Gibbons, “But we are moving a lot of food, with a lot going out to foodbanks. We’re working on finding new suppliers too. We have stocks, but they won’t last forever. We have a duty to make sure they’re going to the right people.”

Among the big recent donors have been a Sikh charity called Khalsa Aid International. The organisation provided £2,000 worth of food, which was bought through Lidl. The organisation has volunteers in Doncaster who work with Sikh Youth Doncaster.

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