‘NO CHILD SHOULD GO HUNGRY IN THIS CITY’
Poverty review will focus on use of foodbanks in Potteries
COUNCILLORS have launched an investigation into food poverty and the use of foodbanks in the city.
Stoke-on-trent Foodbank supported 24,000 people with three-day emergency food parcels last year, with help also being provided by a wide range of voluntary groups, churches and charities across the country.
Volunteers have reported being overwhelmed by demand during the cost-of-living crisis, with some saying that last Christmas was their busiest ever.
Now scrutiny committee members at Stoke-on-trent City Council have agreed to launch a review to ‘assess the extent and impact of food insecurity/poverty across the city, and to understand provision and usage of foodbanks’.
The review will focus on two main areas – asking why people use foodbanks and looking at the provision available in Stokeon-trent; and comparing how food insecurity in the Potteries compares to other areas.
Members of the adult social care, health integration and wellbeing scrutiny committee will spend four months exploring the issue before compiling a final report.
Committee member Adrian Knapper said: “It’s very worrying that people in this city have to rely on food being given to them in this way. It’s like going back to the 1920s with the old soup kitchens.
“We need to ensure that people are fed, but at the same time we need to try to improve the standards of people’s lives.
“There’s a lot of good practice taking place in this city. The Coop Academy in Tunstall have a community fridge that they’ve just launched that can be used by pupils and the wider community.
“In a lot of cases it’s not just about access to food, it’s about community cohesion as well.
“But no child should go hungry in this city.”
Councillor Lynn Watkins, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, has backed the review and suggested it look at organisations providing support beyond foodbanks, giving Better Together, the Salvation Army, and Middleport Matters as examples.
She said: “I believe there really is a large number of residents in the city accessing foodbanks, food pantries, food fridges, and it’s something that the committee needs to consider.”
The review was originally due to look at other issues such as how foodbanks operate and the city council’s role. But committee member Heather Blurton argued that a larger review would be too unwieldy and less effective.
She said: “There are only six committee members here and I don’t think, with the original scope, we’d be able to achieve something that’s worthy of our residents. We’ve heard about all the different community groups that provide food, we can’t look into them all.
“I just think this scope is far too big. In a couple of months’ time when we come back there’s going to be so much, unless we sit here until 10pm every night, I don’t think we’ll get it all done.”
Committee members agreed to focus on the two main areas, with the potential for a follow-up review at a later date.