'Calm and measured' – Whitchurch foodbank making plans for coronavirus challenge
Despite concerns about coronavirus and people stockpiling vital food and goods, staff at a Whitchurch foodbank say they are taking a 'calm and measured' approach to the pandemic.
Bosses at Trussell Trust Food Bank at Bargates Church Hall have already put protective measures in place, scaling back how it handles direct one-to-one contact with clients, and advising its mostly elderly volunteer force to stay home if they need to.
But Alan Scutt, chairman of the foodbank, said they are ready more extreme guidance is passed down by the Government.
Mr Scutt said: "The situation is that we're reviewing things on a day-by-day basis.
"We've introduced one or two others area of control. We're concerned for our volunteers as well as our clients. Probably 70 per cent of our volunteers are over 70. We obviously have a responsibility to them to keep them safe.
"We've got to watch for any other direction and guidance, and we as a management team have had a discussion about what we may have to do at the next stage.
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"We may have to have a situation where people contact us and we hand over food without any opportunity to sit down and be of assistance, but that's just us keeping our powder dry for now."
Current rules are mostly about the amount of time food is kept in stock before being given out, control on who comes in contact with the public and keep cross contamination to a minimum.
Shortages
That doesn't mean the virus isn't already hitting home for staff.
"There are shortages," Mr Scutt said. "People are buying up all the long-life milk, and that's the stuff we keep.
"We're very thankful for the support we're getting. We're doing everything we can. We're very keen to try and help as many people as we can. We will continue to keep people advices of what we are and what our situation is.
"Without putting too fine a point on it, we're used to planning, being structured and this is another challenge. We're not underestimating the challenge at all – if there was a edict that over 70s couldn't meet with anybody, we wouldn't be able to run the foodbank with the volunteers lost in view of that."
Those wishing to donate to the foodbank should visit whitchurch.foodbank.org.uk for information on what is needed.
