A FOOD BANK is struggling to compete with panic-buying shoppers as it tries to keep the poorest in the city fed.

Amid the coronavirus crisis, Brighton Foodbank said it has been unable to get hold of bread and long-life milk because supermarket shelves have been stripped bare.

It said grocery delivery services are log-jammed and its orders are being hampered by limits designed to stop shoppers bulk buying.

The organisation, based in Stanley Road, is under intense pressure as the Government lockdown and joblessness bring the city to its knees.

But as demand soars, the food bank can no longer accept donations of food or distribute them in person due to the risk of passing on the virus.

On top of this, many of its volunteers are over 70 years old and have had to be sent home and put into “shielding” isolation.

The food bank is now running on a skeleton staff and asking people to donate money for food online.

Food bank leader Mike Jourdain said: “To those still panic buying in the shops, please – just think of those less fortunate right now.

“The food bank is suffering.

“In the past, we would have bought bread with cash donations and have it delivered online.

“But we can’t get hold of it that way now. Because of the limits on individual shoppers buying groceries, we just can’t get 70 loaves of bread delivered.

“At some point soon we need to find a way of getting produce into the food bank in a safe way. We need to find a supermarket or a warehouse that can help us arrange our deliveries.”

Mike added that with its remaining stock, the food bank is prioritising its most vulnerable users and offering a home-delivery service, until it can find a more sustainable option.

He said: “We’ve asked people not to donate food directly to the food bank, partly to avoid encouraging people to come out, but also for the risks of the food being cross contaminated.

“Until recently we had a stall outside, but now we’re running taxi delivery services directly to our clients.

“We have 60 boxes going out this week, 60 next week and we’ll continue the process as long as we have the food to do so.”

Mike said that after sending many of his elderly and vulnerable volunteers home, his 18-strong workforce has been reduced to a team of just five.

“The dynamics here have changed quite a lot,” he said.

“It’s very difficult at the moment.”

As the social effects of the pandemic and measures designed to curb the spread hit home in the coming months, Mike recognises that people will become increasingly dependent on food banks.

But he fears hard-pressed organisations like his will not be able to cope.

He said: “Food banks are going to become a core part of the way we all do things.

“The demand on them, while it’s high now, is in reality going to be there for many months, probably years, while the country gets back on its feet.”

Already, Brighton Foodbank has had to shed many of its key roles.

Mike said: “Before, we were offering way more than just food.

“We would usually be sitting down and talking with our clients, helping them with their problems and directing them to other

organisations who can help in Brighton.

“The food element, to my mind, is actually just one part of what we usually do.

“We typically offer a hot meal once a week, we do craft workshops, we run budgeting courses.

“But we’ve had to knock all those things on the head.

“We’ve had to get rid of everything that relied on a more human interaction.

“It it so difficult for the volunteers here and everyone who uses the food bank right now.

“Three quarters of our clients are single people.

“For them, coming to the foodbank is as much about seeing others and being in contact with our volunteers as it is about getting food.”

Brighton Foodbank desperately needs your help. You can donate online at www.brightonfoodbank.org.uk.