'We need a new home to save our food bank'
The future of a food bank is at risk after its directors issued an urgent plea to find a permanent home for the organisation.
Colchester Foodbank has been based at the Tollgate Retail Park for the past three years, but its landlord - which had allowed the charity to use the premises for free - is looking to redevelop the site.
Nikki Ranson, one of the food bank's directors, said the number of people using the service had risen from about 7,000 four years ago to 24,500 last year.
"It's scary that we've got the pressure that if we do not find a building... we risk [losing] the food bank," she told BBC Essex.
The food bank has contacted Colchester City Council, the NHS, the Army and the University of Essex for help to find a new base, and is now speaking to estate agents.
It runs 10 smaller sites around the city to make accessing its services easier, but they do not have enough space to store donations and deliveries.
Ms Ranson said the team had considered downsizing its space and ordering less food more often, rather than ordering in bulk, but the food bank still needed about 7,000 sq ft (650 sq m) of space.
Losing its main base would also mean losing "vital" services, such as on-site referrals to Citizens Advice and the city council, she said.
"We don't want to hold [the redevelopment] up... so we need to move pretty soon," she added.
'Really difficult'
Faye, not her real name, started volunteering for the food bank after previously using its services during the coronavirus pandemic.
"It's really difficult for a lot of people to admit you need help, and I think people try to persevere, so if you go to a food bank it shows just how desperate and how at the end of your tether you are," she said.
Many of the people visiting the food bank were in full-time employment, including carers and nurses, Faye added.
Additional reporting by Leigh Milner.
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