Emma Spring from Bank the Food was on BBC Radio Essex at the start of December, talking about the app that began here in Southend. Watch the snippet below to listen to Emma chatting with Tony Fisher about Bank the Food, or catch up on iplayer.
Talking about the need for this kind of app, Emma said:
Surely we can connect together the people that want to donate with the food bank… and that’s exactly what Bank the Food does
Emma explained, “foodbanks really struggle to communicate their real time needs to their donors, they saw that foodbanks use many difference sources to update their needs, like notices in supermarkets and social media and websites etc. and as well as that their food needs are always changing as they get donations, so it’s a really arduous and time consuming task for food bank staff and volunteers when they could be spending their time collection and distributing food”. She added “we think we can really make a big difference. It’s a hard time for so many people at the moment and just to make sure food banks are getting what they need when they need it is what we’re all about”
Emma highlighted how simple the app is to use, and how far it has spread across the country, noting that there are “foodbanks on board from Peeblesshire to South Wales to Carlisle and a good number in Essex”
the app is so simple: people can download the app, they can follow their local food bank and then the app will ping them just as they arrive at their collection point, i.e. at the supermarket, to tell them exactly when the foodbank need
To download the app and try it yourself, visit bankthefood.org