THE Ludlow Food Bank has been inundated with new volunteers.

Facing high demand for its services and the prospect of a tough winter ahead an appeal was made for more people to help.

This was partly because many of the original pool of volunteers were vulnerable either because of age or health issues.

Ruth Davies, who heads the Food Bank, says that people have continued to be very generous both with donations and with giving time.

The Food Bank found itself to be very busy in March and April after which the demand has been steadier.

Food banks up and down the country have been reporting that they are being asked for help from people who would never have imagined that they would need to turn to them for support.

“We have found that throughout lockdown and beyond people have been extremely generous with their donations and many with their time,” said Ms Davies.

“Although many of our longstanding volunteers are in the vulnerable groups, we have had a new group of volunteers who have been fantastic.

“In fact we did put out an appeal for new volunteers, and have been inundated with offers of help. We now just have to train them all.”

The Food Bank was expecting a late summer increase in demand but this did not happen.

However, it is bracing for an upsurge in the autumn as it gets colder and the furlough scheme comes to an end.

“March and April were particularly busy for us, but since then things have been quite steady. We were expecting a surge in demand in August, but it didn’t happen,” added Ms Davies.

“I know other food banks in the county did have a surge, but not in Ludlow.

“We are still at the point of expecting an increase in demand, but we are quite well placed to meet that when it happens.

“Many changes have happened over the past six months, and a lot of hard work has been put in by volunteers.

“We have seen a few people who are new to us, and of course they are very embarrassed to be using a food bank, but we try to be as friendly and helpful as possible, which usually puts them at ease.

“This year has been the busiest so far, but not quite as mad as we expected.”

The Ludlow Food Bank is based at the Rockspring Centre and helps people of all ages, both families and individuals who can self-refer.