Demand doubled but we nearly had to close

Foodbank Humans MCR supports 400 families weekly across Manchester but has suffered due to a lack of funding

- GRETA SIMPSON

A MANCHESTER foodbank says demand on their services has doubled in the last two years, due to a rise in poverty.

Despite the increase in demand, north Manchester charity Humans MCR almost had to close in September due to a lack of funding.

Lewey Hallewell, founder of the Blackley charity, told the Manchester Evening News that the amount of referrals to their service has gone from 20k a year between 2019 to 2022, to around 40k last year, outstripping what they can supply on limited funding.

"We've seen exponential growth in terms of demand from last year to this year, and trying to deal with that whilst being in such a precarious position has been a real challenge," he said.