Banbury's Local Larder hits food delivery target - but says 'it's sad that we are needed'

Michael Hampton has been running the service since 2022 after his volunteer work during the lockdowns, when he was known as Mike on a Bike.

Now, three years later, he says he is pleased to be hitting the yearly target of 10,000 food packages ahead of schedule but is sad that the food banks are not coping with the demand.

Michael said: “I feel really happy to hit my target, but it's sad that I have to, and it's sad that food banks can't cope.

“It’s an achievement for me, and I’m really proud of it because it's just me and Keith Davies from the volunteer driver service.”

The service has used drivers from the Volunteer Driver Service North Oxfordshire to deliver boxes containing 25 meals to around 400 residents since January.

Michael accepts donations but has used his own money to cover some of the costs, which have totalled over £12,000 already this year.

He said: “We hope the numbers will go down in the future because we refer people to other longer-term services because we believe in helping with the root cause of people’s problems during the cost of living crisis.”

Michael combines the Local Larder work with his full-time job and spends most evenings contacting people or packing up the food packages.

The larder is now running a Christmas food drive, asking for non-perishable foods to be donated at a number of Banbury businesses.

For more information visit, https://www.facebook.com/locallardernorthoxon or phone Michael on 07930 544311