THE project manager at Launceston Foodbank, Yvonne King, has warned of the number of people from the town and the surrounding areas that are coming to them.

Speaking at Launceston Town Council’s annual meeting on Wednesday, April 10, where the foodbank received a grant of £420 from the town council, Yvonne said: “Thank you to the town council, I’d like to say we’ve been quiet, but unfortunately that won’t happen.

“I want to give you some statistics as to the idea of the crisis we have in the town we live in.

“Poverty is a key word. I’m down there Monday to Friday and every day I’m amazed at the amount of people who need help.

“From young people to single people to the elderly and families, nobody is not affected.

“From January to March in 2018 we fed 255 people and up to today so far in 2019 we’ve fed 501.

“In the first eight days of April we fed 71 people.

“There are lots of different reasons as to why but the main reason in this area is low income. It’s a myth that it’s only people with benefits. So many people are working but can’t make ends meet, especially during the winter months.

“There’s also a problem with the homeless. We’ve dealt with 11 homeless in three months. You won’t necessarily see them in doorways but they do a lot of sofa surfing and three people sleep in people’s sheds. This is here in Launceston, not Manchester or London.”

Yvonne then talked about the steps they take to try and help.

She said: “We work with 126 agencies including schools, churches and charities etc and they’re all signed up with us now and we can signpost people.

“One of these is the Money Advice Centre. Without them I’d have no idea where I would send them.

“But we do help and make a difference and this money will help us to keep making a difference.”