Demand for emergency food parcels in Weymouth is continuing to rise with more than 4,000 people needing help so far this year - including 1,000 children.

Weymouth Foodbank is seeing an increase in people using its service with the total number of referrals up from this time last year – latest figures have revealed.

For the first quarter of 2024 a total of 1,971 referrals were made to the food bank based out of the Granby Industrial Estate in Chickerell – up seven per cent from the same period last year.

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This included a total of 3,116 adults up from 2,773.

Shockingly there was an increase of almost 200 children needing to use the service which has jumped by 21 per cent.

In the first three months of 2024 1,079 children used the foodbank compared to 894 in the same period in 2023.

The foodbank is also continuing to see a rise in families and couples using the service.

READ: Weymouth Foodbank figures reveal huge rise in demand

Of the nearly 2,000 referrals, 640 were for families and 434 were for couples. Single people using the service is the only area in which demand has decreased, dropping from 897 from 968.

Chair of trustees for Weymouth Foodbank, Jean-Paul Dervley, said: "After the huge increases in demand for our services in 2022 and 2023, demand is still increasing, but at not so rapid a rate.

“The numbers do show that there is a shift to supporting more couples and families.”

As reported, the foodbank saw demand double from 2022 to 2023 after the demand had already risen by two thirds from 2021.

In total, 14,156 people (including more than 3,000 children) - which equates to 126,000 meals - were helped in Weymouth in 2023.

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The cost-of-living crisis is not only having an impact on people being able to afford putting food on the table, but the foodbank itself is seeing the consequences.

With less and less people able to donate goods to the food charity, it is relying more and more on having to buy in produce to keep up with demand – in short demand is greater than supply – and the charity now relies more and more upon financial contributions.

In February it was gifted a new, larger warehouse facility by DJ Property rent free to help with costs and to be able to use its cashflow to buy more goods.

Mr Dervley added: “The cost-of-living crisis is impacting the goods donated for us, so we are relying more on buying food to meet the demand. 

“Grants are becoming more difficult to obtain, so we are relying more than ever on financial donations to support our work."

This news comes after the national network of food banks, known as the Trussell Trust, which has centres in the north and east of the county in Gillingham and Bournemouth, said that its food banks distributed more than 3.1 million emergency food parcels last year – a 94 per cent increase compared to five years ago.

To get support from Weymouth Foodbank call 07531 167465 or e mail weymouthfb@outlook.com

Alternatively visit www.weymouthfoodbank.co.uk for more information