'We see the queue for food growing day by day'

When she opens the doors of the community hub, she sees a few familiar faces ready to collect groceries to help her through the week. An anti-hunger group reports an "unprecedented demand" for help as her few regular visitors have grown to a long queue.

The manager of the Bechange project in Aylesham in Kent says that the queue has increased from four to 25 people in the last two months.

She says it's people with young families, older people and people who are working.

We are getting people from outside the village. People are taking stuff for family members and neighbours because they are worried about them.

There is an increase in demand for the services of charities and community groups helping people at risk of hunger.

The findings are part of a major new survey by Fareshare which distributes surplus food to thousands of organizations.

The cost of living crisis is impacting the work of 90 percent of the groups that took part.

Fareshare doesn't have enough food to support the growing need

It is launching a campaign to get more donations from across the food industry.

A year and a half ago we were sending out 1,500 trays of food a week, now it's 3000, says Emma White, shift manager at Fareshare's Kent distribution hub.

I think that number could double again over the coming months.

There are 30 regional warehouses in the UK. Teams of volunteers in high vis waistcoats pick and pack large quantities of unsold or unwanted food from supermarkets and food manufacturers. Retailers and food-to-go outlets collect smaller amounts of surplus food.

It's fresh, healthy produce would otherwise go to waste.

Fareshare says it helps feed a million people in the UK every week.

It could be a homeless refuge, a school breakfast club or a foodbank. Emma, who is also a volunteer, says we are serving all areas of the UK in different communities.

More than 75% of the organizations that responded to the survey said they had seen an increase in demand. The increasing cost of food is one of the reasons why people are accessing their services.

The volunteers at the Bechange project collect food once a week and put it out in the community hall.

The line of people waiting for the doors to open is every Friday.

I will make soup with vegetables which will last a few days. I also pick up fresh fruit.

Alison has been coming to Be change for a couple of months and says it is a big help as money is tight.

I might be one of the lucky ones. I work part-time and get Universal Credit, but I still worry about how much the gas and electric is going to go up. I would love for them to pay me my wages for a month. She says that they would never come here.

Alison says she can't stop thinking about the future.

I go to bed at night and start thinking. I start rubbing my hair. I have a big patch there, because I am so worried.

The volunteers and workers at this small hub can sense the increasing anxiety.

It's shocking because it's all kinds of people. There isn't an end to it. We know that things are going to get worse.