Garden shed food bank's future 'uncertain' - owner

A man whose food bank in York supports about 100 people a day has said its future remains uncertain.

John McGall launched I Am Reusable Community Food Bank in 2020 and has continued to run it from his garden shed since then.

He was granted temporary planning permission to continue operating from his home on Aldborough Way in 2024 by City of York Council.

However, that permission expired on 1 November and McGall said he had failed to find a suitable alternative site and has applied for an extension to his temporary consent.

"It's been very difficult, if I'd have waited until November to sort this out I'd put my hands up but I have been trying to find somewhere, I wish I had an answer," McGall said.

"This is a very important service for the people who rely on it, the ones who will suffer are the ones who use it."

The planning application stated it had since grown to serve around 100 people a day and was supported by more than 60 volunteers from 10:00 to 17:00 GMT.

The food bank receives donations from around 15 supermarkets and local businesses who deliver goods from 08:00 to 22:00.

McGall said a purpose-run food bank also providing aid including employment and mental health support and cookery classes was needed in the long-term serving the whole city.

McGall's planning application has attracted 19 letters of support and three objections, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

One of those said the food bank had only previously been granted temporary planning permission because the area was unsuitable.

They wrote: "The land in association with the food bank is not considered appropriate in such a residential setting, given the harm identified in relation to visual appearance, parking and neighbour amenity.

"Nothing has changed since then and many of the immediate neighbours have waited patiently for this monstrosity to be removed.

"This is a residential area, not an industrial estate."

However, supporters said the food bank was a "lifeline" and closing it before a viable alternative was found would cause "immediate hardship" across the city.

McGall accepted the concerns raised by people.

"I think some of the neighbours are fed up now because they thought we'd be gone in a couple of years," he said.

However, he said he would be worried about shutting given the continuing high cost of living.

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