9 minute read
The rising tide of food bank use
Jonny Currie outlines the work of the Trussell Trust in Northern Ireland and describes a darkening picture that is being seen across all of Ireland.
The Trussell Trust supports 22 Northern Irish food banks, which make up about 5% of the total number of food banks in the network across the UK – all providing practical support for people facing hardship.
We believe that emergency food isn’t a long-term solution to hunger. People need food banks when they don’t have enough money for essentials. That’s why we also work with communities and churches across Northern Ireland to change the things that push people to need a food bank.
Northern Irish food banks provided over 62,000 parcels to people facing financial hardship from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. This represents a 36% increase compared to the same period in 2019/20 – before the height of the pandemic – as more and more people are unable to afford the absolute essentials. This represents the largest increase in support provided when compared to England, Scotland and Wales.
In April to June this year, usually a quieter period, food bank use in Northern Ireland increased by 30% compared to the same period last year. Our food banks are very concerned about increasing need going into the winter.
Who uses food banks?
The cost of living crisis is having an impact on us all, but especially those forced to survive on the lowest incomes. Food banks in our network are telling us about accelerating need in recent months, including from people who are working, as more and more households are pushed deeper into poverty. Something our food banks often hear from people is “I never expected to be here”.
In addition, people who cannot work or work long hours, for example due to disability or unpaid work, have long been particularly at risk of needing a food bank’s support. We also know people are being forced to take cold showers and turn off their fridges and washing machines because they can’t meet rising costs. Many people are asking for cold food, as they can’t afford to heat their meals. We also know that parents are skipping meals in order to feed their children. As one person put it who had no option but to use a food bank, “I do skip meals. The kids don’t, but I do. I can go three days without eating. When I first started doing it, it was like, oh my goodness, I feel ill. Now I’m used to it.”
What is driving people to use food banks?
Hunger in Northern Ireland isn’t about food – it’s about a lack of income. We know that the majority (95%) of people that need support from food banks in the Trussell Trust network are destitute – meaning they are unable to afford the absolute essentials to eat, stay warm, dry and clean. This particularly reflects a growing crisis in social security.
Independent research shows that the most immediate driver of food bank need is problems with our social security system – more often than not by design, such as record low benefit rates and debt caused by features like the five-week wait for a first Universal Credit payment. Nearly half of people referred to food banks in the Trussell Trust network are in debt to the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions – the department responsible for social security). This debt can take many forms, including paying back advance payments given to people on Universal Credit to cover the fiveweek wait for their first benefit payment, repaying benefit overpayments, and more. This has become even more acute since the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.
The available evidence indicates that the impact of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic has deepened the experience of destitution for some, but also driven new groups of people into long-term destitution. Ill health or challenging life experiences can also drive people to food banks. Mental or physical ill health, eviction, divorce, or losing a job can push many people into poverty by making it more difficult to engage with the welfare system, or increasing their expenses. Most people attending food banks either don’t have or have exhausted formal and informal support (e.g. from family and friends) and have nowhere else to turn.
Church involvement with the Trussell Trust
Twenty out of the 22 food banks within our Northern Ireland network are run by churches or faith-based organisations. Most food banks also manage a network of distribution centres to cover a wider geographical area or to be available for more days during the week.
Presbyterian, Methodist, Anglican, Baptist as well as Vineyard, Elim and other non-denominational churches are active within our network either as main food bank centres or as distribution centres. Food banks are also heavily reliant on churches for the provision of essential items.
How Trussell Trust food banks work
Non-perishable, in-date food is donated by the public at a range of places, such as schools, churches, and businesses, as well as supermarket collection points. It is then sorted into emergency food parcels by volunteers, to be given to people in crisis.
Care professionals such as health visitors, staff at schools and social workers identify people in crisis and issue them with a food bank voucher. This means people can receive a parcel of around three days’ worth of nutritionally balanced, non-perishable food from their local food bank. Our food bank network helps people break free from poverty by providing additional practical support to help them resolve the crises they’re facing so that they don’t need to use a food bank again in the future. This could include things like referrals for financial or debt advice, mental health support, or benefits guidance to address the underlying causes of people’s hardship. Food banks rely on the support of their local communities to support people in crisis.
Cost of living crisis affecting donations
The general picture of stock levels across our network is varied and depends on each food bank’s set of circumstances. However, we are aware that many food banks are seeing a decrease in donation levels and shortages of certain items and would recommend contacting your local food bank or looking at our website for the latest information about which items are needed in your area. While there are concerns about donations, the primary issue is the need for our services which has been increasing year on year – that’s why we need urgent government action. We are encouraging food banks in our network to hold additional stock where possible in preparation for any sharp increases in need as a result of the cut to Universal Credit, rising energy prices and wider cost-of-living crisis.
What can we do to help (individually and as churches)?
One NI food bank manager said, “We have to be proactive. What we don’t want to do is just hand out food packages as and when people need them. We want to be able to help them in other ways, finding out why they’re in that position and getting them back to where they need to be.”
We’re all made in the image of God. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). Being trapped by poverty is at odds with God’s plan for fullness. There is a dignity in being able to afford the essentials and provide for yourself and your family. There are three things that we can all do to help:
1. If you are struggling to afford the essentials, please call for free to talk confidentially to a trained Advice NI adviser on 0800 915 4604 (open Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm, closed on public holidays). They can help address your crisis and provide support to maximise your income, help you navigate the benefits system, and identify any additional grants you could be entitled to. The advisers can also provide specialist debt and budgeting advice to people calling the line. If needed, they’ll issue you with a voucher so you can get an emergency food parcel from your local food bank.
2. If you are in a position to do so, please consider donating, either financially or through the provision of essential items, to your local food bank. All food banks within the Trussell Trust network have a website with a function for online giving. They also communicate regularly through social media the particular items they are running low on. We’re only part of the picture – there are also lots of independent food banks and other local organisations that provide food in community settings.
3. Contact your local elected representatives and encourage them to act. Food banks are an incredible community-led response to people in crisis, but they shouldn’t have to exist. There are decisions that can be made by both the Westminster and Stormont governments to release the pressure on people during this cost-of-living crisis. In the short-term this includes controlling and reducing energy bills, making further payments to low-income households, and uprating social security payments in line with inflation at Westminster.
A functioning Northern Ireland Executive can also use its existing powers to ease the worst aspects of this crisis and also the long-term impact of poverty through the reallocation of existing financial resources.
Jonny Currie is the Northern Ireland Lead of the Trussell Trust.
Organisations in ROI
For food poverty issues in the Republic of Ireland, the following may be useful:
Crosscare
Crosscare exists to support people and families when they face difficult challenges in life and when they find it hard to get the help they need. They offer a range of services, including food poverty support. https://crosscare.ie/
FoodCloud
FoodCloud is a social enterprise with a mission to transform surplus food into opportunities to make the world a kinder place. https://food.cloud/
