Food banks are experiencing unprecedented demand, so what can we do to support them?
Since lockdown, Hannah Cornwall, 29, has checked her online bank account more than usual. With rising electricity bills due to spending more time at home, her partner furloughed and her zero-hour contract job gone – and with rent to pay too – the family have struggled to afford food.
“Just after lockdown started, there was a really bad day, we literally had no money, and my heart sank, we didn’t have enough food to get through the week,” says Cornwall, who lives in Ashford, Kent, with her partner and 11 year-old daughter from a previous relationship, who is autistic. When her partner’s three children are round, there are six mouths to feed.
When the first parcel arrived, organised by the Transforming Lives for Good (TLG) charity, which runs Make Lunch clubs in normal times, “it almost brought tears to my eyes. There was so much in there that it took a weight off, that we could get through the rest of the week.”
Yesterday, food charities announced that April was their “busiest ever” month. According to the Trussell Trust, an anti-poverty charity that supports over 1,200 food banks, the month saw 89 per cent more food parcels handed out compared with the same month in 2019. At the Independent Food Aid Network, the increase was 175 per cent; in Sheffield, food bank use has risen by 1,000 per cent since lockdown began.
Across Britain, the pandemic has caused a huge surge in food poverty. “We can’t see from the data if it’s people who have never used a food bank before [who are coming to us],” says the Trussell Trust’s chief executive Emma Revie, “but we’ve never seen this level of families. One would assume many have not used food banks until now. It’s unprecedented.”
Revie says it’s “interesting how often it’s taken for granted that people know what it [a food bank] is.” For much of the population, the experience amounts to chucking a packet of penne in a bin at the supermarket checkout. But, for many, food banks offer a lifeline, emergency supplies when rent, bills, childcare and other costs leave next to nothing to feed the family.
Essentially, food banks are charitable organisations that distribute food and supplies such as toiletries to those in need, though they differ greatly in size and makeup. Often, households are referred to charities like the Trussell Trust by external organisations, such as Citizens Advice, housing officers or GPs. Pre-Covid, the recipient would then attend their local food bank to collect emergency packages. Since lockdown, they have increasingly been delivered directly to homes.
Food bank use had been rising exponentially since before coronavirus. The Trussell Trust has seen a 73 per cent increase in the past five years, yet the pandemic has exacerbated the issue, highlighting the precarious nature of life for millions in the UK.
“It’s not just a product of lockdown, but a product of the economic ramifications of lockdown,” Review explains. “The data in March showed a significant number of people falling through the safety net.” With working hours or jobs lost, many have been left unable to earn an income.
“In March, what we were looking at with interest was April, when the government’s job retention scheme, universal credit and local housing allowance all kicked in, to see if the numbers trended down or remained stable,” says Revie. But instead, food bank use continue to grow, and is unlikely to end with the easing of lockdown.
“Before the pandemic, we were supplying enough food for a million meals a week,” says Lindsay Boswell, chief executive of FareShare, a charity that focuses on rescuing food destined for waste, much of which ends up in food banks and other food charities. “That has leapt to just under three millions meals.” FareShare has seen a threefold increase in charities applying for food, with a high proportion of charities shifting to food parcels (such as TLG).
Many food banks or other food charities have arisen, or have switched to emergency food packages since lockdown. TLG, for example, usually helps provide meals for school children during holidays, something Cornwall has been a recipient of in the past. With schools shut, the charity shifted towards food packages for those families suddenly needing to fund three meals a day. (Many, like Cornwall, are currently receiving £15 per child per week.)
In London, the Dons Local Action Group, set up by AFC Wimbledon supporters, mobilised to provide food packages when the pandemic hit. Food Bank Aid North London (FBANL) only launched in April, and is already providing food packages to 14 food banks across north London. The number of chefs cooking free meals for the homeless or vulnerable, often separate from charities, has also been heartening.
The growth in the number of volunteers has been “extraordinary”, according to Revie. “If you’d asked me three months ago whether we could sustain an 89 per cent increase in demand for emergency food, I’d have said it was unimaginable. But food banks have stepped forward, people are donating food and money and volunteering in their thousands. We are extraordinarily grateful.” Students no longer studying, furloughed workers and those simply with more time on their hands have joined en masse.
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One new recruit is Adam Bloom, 55, from north London. Bloom runs three bookshops, all of which have been temporarily closed. With more time on his hands, Bloom signed up to help FBANL in April. Bloom explains: “I thought, well, it’s a good thing to do, and it sure as hell beats sitting around watching Netflix. You’ve got to appreciate what you’ve got and do the right thing and help people that unfortunately, for whatever reason, are in the situation they’re in.”
Bloom’s house has become a local drop-off point, from where he delivers donations to the FBANL, which is run from the founder’s garage. He also helps deliver the parcels to food banks in Tottenham and Euston, and has been struck by the public’s generosity. “Every time I go to collect a delivery, I think how is she going to deliver tomorrow, then I go back a few days later and it’s absolutely rammed again.”
What is the best way to help a food bank or charity? Many aren’t able to accept volunteers for now, though it’s worth signing up anyway, as the need will remain, if not expand, once furloughs end and people head back to work. Revie says the best thing is to check with your local food bank, which can be found by a quick online search or via the Trussell Trust’s find a food bank function.
If you can’t offer time, there is still plenty you can do. Food, obviously, is paramount. “It’s a lifeline for us, so absolutely, if you can donate at your local supermarket or to your local food bank, or put in place a doorstep collection point, it’s always great.” Revie says tinned meat, fish and vegetables and UHT milk are always “gratefully received.”
Bloom adds that the need for basic toiletries such as nappies, shampoo or toothpaste is “just as intense”. Biscuits, snack bars and other treats are also popular. “We're doing pretty well on baked beans at the moment.” The FBANL posts weekly lists of required foods on social media, as do many other local food banks.
If you are unable to donate food, money helps, too. For a volunteer like Bloom, he can do a shop for a donor and take that to the food bank. Financial donations also help organisations with things like fuel costs or warehouse rentals. You could also start a drop-off point (check if your local food bank needs one) or spread awareness online.
The Trussell Trust is currently asking people in England to write to the Government to support its demands around local welfare systems. They are calling for local authorities to be funded to give emergency cash grants to families in need; a rise in benefit rates for families with children; to suspend the five-week wait for universal credit; and to lift to the two-child benefit cap.
“It’s concerning that, going forward, if more people are on benefits, we will see more people coming to food banks. It’s not insoluble, but there’s no question that it’s challenging,” says Revie. “We cannot keep reporting an 107 per cent increase in children receiving help from food banks. That’s not right.”
Back in Ashford, Cornwall urges anyone reluctant to receive charity to not be put off by the need for help. “Of course it’s difficult to be in this situation,” Cornwall admits. “No matter your situation, no one should feel ashamed to access it. It is definitely not putting your hands up and saying ‘you’re poor’, it’s ‘I’m having a tricky month this month, I need a bit of extra help’. It’s not a bad thing, don’t be ashamed to do it, if it’s something you need to do to provide for your family.”
If you'd like to help, search for your local food bank online, or visit one of the following websites:
