A “large quantity” of money has been stolen in a break-in at Lewisham Foodbank in south-east London.
Staff reportedly arrived at the charity’s warehouse, in a church in Malham Road, Forest Hill, on Tuesday morning, to find a thief had broken in through the front door.
Cash donations that would have been used to buy food had been stolen, along with a phone.
Project manager Sarah Vitty said the incident came as a “big blow” to the organisation, which “needs all the donations it can get”.
Ms Vitty said the food bank was already struggling to meet demand, which has reportedly risen by 65 per cent compared to this time last year. The charity currently provides food and essential supplies to around 700 people across Lewisham.
“We have CCTV footage so we know what happened,” she told South London Press. “Someone forced entry through the front door and stole all the money, as well as damaging the door.
“They took our petty cash tin and some financial donations that were waiting to be banked, as well as a staff phone.
“It’s really disappointing for staff and volunteers. It has a big impact on how we can help people. We’re already feeling quite stretched. It’s very sad.”
Who breaks into a Foodbank?
— Lewisham Foodbank (@lewishamfood) July 18, 2023
This morning we arrived at work to find that our warehouse had been broken into. Work phones, donations, petty cash etc taken. They knew what they were doing.
We are a little bit broken today, already struggling with being short staffed. Tough day.
In a post on Twitter, the charity asked “Who breaks into a Foodbank?” and described staff as “broken” by the incident.
But the charity has been met with support from the community, including local businesses, restaurants and residents who have come together to replace the stolen money.
“Extra people have come and donated, extra people have come in and volunteered, we’ve had people randomly turn up with donations and shopping orders, so that’s really heart warming and encouraging,” Ms Vitty told the BBC.
She added that the high demand the food bank is seeing makes her concerned for the winter period, when usage tends to increase.
“Our centres are extremely busy, sometimes we run out of food, we’re not able to provide as much as we used to and it can be demoralising,” she told the BBC.
“We’re worried for the coming winter because the numbers are higher than they have ever been”.
Scotland Yard said it is investigating the break-in.
