The number of people taking advantage of free food programmes has risen dramatically in recent months, according to charities involved in feeding the needy.Seven organisations who dish out meals around the Island have joined together to form the Bermuda Association of Food Aid Providers and better coordinate the donations they receive from wholesalers and importers.The charities say they have seen a “substantial increase in demand for food aid in Bermuda”.Sheelagh Cooper, from the Coalition for the Protection for Children, told The Royal Gazette: “We decided to get together and form an association because we are all facing increased demands on our food aid.“We thought if we worked together we might be able to work more efficiently and be perhaps more likely to ‘cement’ the gaps.“There are pockets of people here and there who are not necessarily served by any of us. From time to time, there is a surplus of food that one or another of us might come across.”Margaret Ward, executive director of the Eliza Dolittle Society which launched a feeding programme in September, said the number of hungry people was growing.“We started with 15 to 20 people at the feeding centre and now one centre is averaging 50 a week, the other is 60 a week and another is 40. It has more than doubled.There are more and more people that you wouldn’t expect [to need help]. People that have been laid off.”She said food wholesalers were being “inundated” with requests for free donations from charities and a more effective way of organising distribution was needed.“It’s to strengthen our voice and speak together as a united group to wholesalers and importers of food,” Ms Ward said of the new association.“If they understand as a group what our needs are, we think that’s going to be easier for them.”The other agencies involved in the association are the Salvation Army, the LCCA (Lady Cubitt Compassionate Association), the Centre Against Abuse, the Hands of Love Ministry and Meals on Wheels.A joint statement said: “The purpose of the association is to better serve our respective client populations through improved collaboration, information sharing and more cost effective purchasing, as well as better distribution of food aid.“The first order of business has been a survey of food aid providers to develop a comprehensive list of all private, public, religious and secular sources of food aid, the nature of the food aid and the populations served.“In addition, we are currently conducting a needs assessment to determine the magnitude of the needs, the nature of the need, as experienced by distinct population segments, and the extent to which specific populations are served or otherwise neglected.”Useful websites: www.coalition.bm, www.elizadolittle.com, www.salvationarmy.ca/bd, www.centreonphilanthropy.org/nonprofitdirector.