Monday, December 14, 2020
The deepening food crisis
While government ministers are warning about shortages in supermarkets in the event of a no deal Brexit, a much more serious food crisis continues to develop in the UK.
The Independent reports that middle-class graduates are among those queueing for food from charities this winter as the hunger crisis deepens in the pandemic – with one organisation saying members of the typically well-off social group make up around one in 10 of their service users.
The paper says food poverty is cutting a wider and deeper swathe across the country at the end of 2020 than ever before:
Ishraq Bhatti, co-founder of the Bounds Green food bank, said the trend was clear. “It is a new phenomenon but almost 10 per cent of the households we feed are now educated middle class.
“We launched our food bank in May and support 450 households a week, which equates to about 1,200 people, which is five times the numbers we helped when we started.”
Our reporter watched as the queue formed around half an hour before opening time, with people standing in a line that snaked for 100 metres down the side of the church building, across the front and down the other side, shuffling to keep warm.
They included young mothers with babies in prams, who had come to pick up fresh fruit and veg, supplied by The Independent’s Help The Hungry charity partner, The Felix Project.
Ms Lewis, 46, said: “I spent five years studying for a degree. I’m a graduate, I never expected to be standing next to people who have such hard circumstances.
Ted, 58, added: “I have been an ambulance driver for 15 years. I demanded better PPE to protect us but none was forthcoming so I resigned.
“I never thought I’d be a candidate for the food bank but I’ve met all sorts, including former police officers.
“I came today because I don’t have enough food to feed the kids beyond dinner tonight. If it weren’t for these wonderful people, I would have gone out of my mind.”
Anthy Orphanou, the food bank’s day coordinator, said they were seeing lots of people like Ted who never used food bank’s before. “One lady said to me, ‘All these years I’ve donated to food banks and now I am using one’. Every week the queue gets longer. People arrive at 10am to be first in the queue at 2pm. One lady brings her own chair.”
Shaun, 58, a self-employed driver, said: “I’ve worked all my life and never had problems supporting myself, so I find it embarrassing to stand in a queue and worry that one of my neighbours might drive past and see me. Covid has brought me to a tough place.”
The Independent reports that middle-class graduates are among those queueing for food from charities this winter as the hunger crisis deepens in the pandemic – with one organisation saying members of the typically well-off social group make up around one in 10 of their service users.
The paper says food poverty is cutting a wider and deeper swathe across the country at the end of 2020 than ever before:
Ishraq Bhatti, co-founder of the Bounds Green food bank, said the trend was clear. “It is a new phenomenon but almost 10 per cent of the households we feed are now educated middle class.
“We launched our food bank in May and support 450 households a week, which equates to about 1,200 people, which is five times the numbers we helped when we started.”
Our reporter watched as the queue formed around half an hour before opening time, with people standing in a line that snaked for 100 metres down the side of the church building, across the front and down the other side, shuffling to keep warm.
They included young mothers with babies in prams, who had come to pick up fresh fruit and veg, supplied by The Independent’s Help The Hungry charity partner, The Felix Project.
Ms Lewis, 46, said: “I spent five years studying for a degree. I’m a graduate, I never expected to be standing next to people who have such hard circumstances.
Ted, 58, added: “I have been an ambulance driver for 15 years. I demanded better PPE to protect us but none was forthcoming so I resigned.
“I never thought I’d be a candidate for the food bank but I’ve met all sorts, including former police officers.
“I came today because I don’t have enough food to feed the kids beyond dinner tonight. If it weren’t for these wonderful people, I would have gone out of my mind.”
Anthy Orphanou, the food bank’s day coordinator, said they were seeing lots of people like Ted who never used food bank’s before. “One lady said to me, ‘All these years I’ve donated to food banks and now I am using one’. Every week the queue gets longer. People arrive at 10am to be first in the queue at 2pm. One lady brings her own chair.”
Shaun, 58, a self-employed driver, said: “I’ve worked all my life and never had problems supporting myself, so I find it embarrassing to stand in a queue and worry that one of my neighbours might drive past and see me. Covid has brought me to a tough place.”
Other north London food banks, also supplied by The Felix Project, told The Independent they were seeing a sharp rise in people never dependent on food banks before.
Anna Maughan, vice chairman of Finchley Food Bank, said: “We help 110 households a week, up from 30 prior to Covid. You can see they are hungry. They look like they have lost weight, their skin is hanging a bit. The last thing they want is a handout.”
Helen Shannon, co-founder of North Finchley Food Bank, said: “About 10 per cent of our users are middle class. People are mortified to find themselves in this position. But this is London in 2020.”
This is not just a London phenomenon. Food poverty has grown massively during the last year, partly as a result of the pandemic but also due to the stuttering economy. If we go into 2021 with out a Brexit deal then it could well get worse.
Helen Shannon, co-founder of North Finchley Food Bank, said: “About 10 per cent of our users are middle class. People are mortified to find themselves in this position. But this is London in 2020.”
This is not just a London phenomenon. Food poverty has grown massively during the last year, partly as a result of the pandemic but also due to the stuttering economy. If we go into 2021 with out a Brexit deal then it could well get worse.
