Urgent plea for Peterborough food bank donations

Peterborough’s food bank is appealing to the public for more donations ahead of the furlough scheme ending on October 31.
By Rosie Boon
Published 25th Aug 2020, 14:00 BST
Cambridgeshire food banks have seen demand for meals increase by between 50 and 77 per cent. Staff here at Peterborough Food Bank were feeding 300 people a week EMN-200729-095345001Cambridgeshire food banks have seen demand for meals increase by between 50 and 77 per cent. Staff here at Peterborough Food Bank were feeding 300 people a week EMN-200729-095345001
Cambridgeshire food banks have seen demand for meals increase by between 50 and 77 per cent. Staff here at Peterborough Food Bank were feeding 300 people a week EMN-200729-095345001

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, implemented by the Government, began on March 1, helping companies to retain employees by paying 80 per cent of their wages up to a monthly maximum of £2,500.

The city has seen more than 26,000 employees placed on the scheme.

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The food bank, which has found itself making emergency pleas for stock during the pandemic, anticipates a surge to the service when the Government payments drop to 70 per cent of wages in September and 60 per cent in October.

Juliet Welch, community actions project manager, Peterborough Foodbank, said: “We are concerned that as the furlough scheme comes to an end that we will see more redundancies and people struggling to buy food.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak dismissed speculation of extending the scheme past the October deadline in a statement in July.

To make a donation go to: https://peterborough.foodbank.org.uk/

Related topics:PeterboroughGovernmentRishi Sunak