One food hub in Kidsgrove has seen queues of over 70 and witnessed all their food disappear within four minutes. These record demands are why the food hub was set up, said Dave Barber who runs the food hub along with other Rotary Club members.

Dave, 34 from Abbey Hulton said: "In Kidsgrove there is nothing, which is a shame. It's good because now we are tackling the vulnerable people, elderly, young and families. They can come here, use the table to get food and get a drink.

We knew before we set this up just over 12 months ago that there was a need, although we are classed as Kidsgrove Rotary we cover Goldenhill, Tunstall, Sandyford and Alsager and they have all been coming to us, so you can tell it's needed."

Dave Barber (Jonathan Sutton).

The food hub, unlike many other food banks, doesn't operate a voucher system. All the food that they collect is put out along the table and individuals can take what they need. The food is sourced from nearby shops but they only know what they are getting on the day. This means some days there is plenty of food and others not so much.

In addition to this they also run a social supermarket where customers can select what they want from the shop. Prices start from £5 for 10 items and occasionally there are some 'buy it now items'. All the money made in the shop goes back into the food hub.

Last October the food hub's main concern for their users was the increase in gas and electricity prices. Dave said: "You could clearly see what was going on, they were concerned about whether they were going to be eating or heating. I could have honest to god cried for them"

Image credit: Jonathan Sutton.

The Hub also works with local schools and other organisations, local schools have been donating the fresh produce which they have collected through harvest festivals, so none of the fresh produce goes to waste.

They also do referrals to other agencies, on Christmas day they organised for some elderly members of the community to be picked up on Christmas morning and have a three course meal so they weren't alone on Christmas.

Dave continues: "Families have turned around and said if it wasn't for the food banks 'what would we do', and you can see the smiles on their faces.

"I don't know what else we can do, I mean we cater for everything, we have toiletries, fruit and veg, bread and cakes and sometimes supermarkets even give us dented cans."

This isn't about greed, Dave watches what people take to ensure it is fair. His basic rules are for fruit, veg and bread take as much as you want, he has even encouraged people to take more bread home and freeze it to make sure they've always got some, however, with cakes it's a strict one per person to make sure there is enough for everyone.

Any food waste that is produced is collected by a local farmer for animal feed, this is not only helpful for the environment but also stops the Hub buying costly food waste bins.

One Food Hub user, Barbara Harris said: "There are two types of people who come here, those who are lonely and those in need. I've been coming here for nearly a year, my daughter first heard about it and I thought I would give it a try. The hardest thing to do is put your feet through the threshold."

Marcia Ferguson agreed with Barbara's sentiments and said: "it's lovely you meet different people all the time, and it is nice to get out of the house."

Kidsgrove Food Hub is open 11-1 every weekday apart from Monday at Kidsgrove Labour Club.