DEMAND for food banks has increased following the roll-out of Universal Credit – and the government’s “cynical” insistence on making new claimants wait at least five weeks for their first payment, it has been claimed.

Haslemere Food Bank volunteers were braced for a rise in demand over Christmas.

Over 2018, the number of families the food bank supports has risen to an average of five or six each week.

Management group chairman David Rice said: “The switch to Universal Credit has inevitably caused problems.

“Creating a five-week gap in people’s benefit income seems cynically designed to do that.”

St Francis Headley Down food bank coordinator Pauline Firman said: “Sadly, we have seen an increase this year in the numbers of people needing help.

“The reasons are many and varied but most of the households we help week by week are people who are working.

“They are on apprenticeships or training and have to manage on a low income – so a bag of food each week is gratefully received.

“Also, because of the gradual introduction of Universal Credit, some families are finding they are worse off.”

Haslemere Food Bank supports people living in Haslemere, Shottermill, Camelsdale, Lynchmere, Hindhead, Grayshott and Grayswood and, occasionally, Liphook, Fernhurst and Chiddingfold.

St Francis Headley Down also covers Grayshott. Launched in 2012, it currently supports up to 75 adults and 29 children and receives referrals from Grayshott Surgery, Radian Housing and Hampshire County Council.

It operates slightly differently from Haslemere in that it is able to offer continuous support for people for as long as they need it, not just in an emergency.

Haslemere Food Bank packs provide a three-day emergency supply of food and toiletries for people in crisis – families and individuals referred by local support agencies, including social services, Sure Start, Haslemere Health Centre, local schools and churches, and Citizens Advice.

The packs are made up from donations from local people made through churches, supermarkets, schools and offices, which are gratefully received by the 30-strong team of volunteers and sorted, stored and made up into packs.

Mr Rice added: “Because of limited storage facilities, the food bank deals only in packed foods.

“We are not able to handle fresh or frozen foods but we have introduced the practice of adding Tesco vouchers to our packs, so people can augment their packs with fresh fruit and vegetables.

“Now we are also giving vouchers, we do need funds to be able to do this regularly. We have no regular source of funding but occasional gifts and small grants help us to continue this work.

“Each Christmas, we have an extra distribution. We ask the agencies who use the food bank for their clients during the year to give a special voucher to people who are not in immediate emergency need but who nevertheless struggle to feed themselves.

“Last year the food bank helped 70 families through this special distribution. The Christmas food packs contain seasonal items such as mince pies and Christmas cake, which do not come in through our regular donations.

“The food bank is run entirely by volunteers, with a small management group to oversee and develop the work. We are dependent on the goodwill and hard work of our volunteers and the generosity of the Methodist Church, which provides storage for donated food free of charge.”

St Francis Headley Down Food Bank is supported by members of St Francis Church, Bordon Food Bank, Grayshott Surgery and Sainsbury’s and the Co-op in Grayshott.

It has a weekly arrangement with Fareshare charity, which collects fresh food from supermarkets.

At a small cost, volunteers collect boxes of food that would otherwise end up in landfill, simply because of short shelf life, over-ordering or even a bad print run with wrong colours on boxes.