The foodbank is always frenetic in the run-up to Christmas, but this year, servicing the number of clients and receiving donations was at the highest level we have ever recorded. In client-facing in December we twice exceeded giving out 600kg of food and twice exceeded giving out 700kg in a single shift (the usual is between 200 and 300kg per shift). This demonstrates how needs are increasing, particularly in the lead-up to Christmas.
Fortunately this level of demand was matched by the level of donations received, which just topped 8 metric tonnes for one month, the normal being 2 to 3 metric tonnes per month. Thanks very much all the foodbank volunteers, many of you who came in on non-shift days to receive, weigh and sort the food often into the evening, and to all client-facing volunteers who did a tremendous job servicing all the clients.