Huge rise in need for food handouts
How foodbank usage is on the up across Chichester district and Bognor
Foodbank use in Chichester District rose by 22 per cent in the last financial year, it was revealed this week.
The figure is higher than the national average reported by the Trussell Trust of 19 per cent.
Joanne Kondabeka, who manages the foodbank, said there had been an ‘enormous rise’ in the number of people supported by the emergency food supplies since the introduction of Universal Credit.
She said: “We fed 2,865 people in the last financial year and that includes 1,171 children, just for Chichester district.
“That works out as 515 people extra from the year before.”
She estimated 36 per cent of those in receipt of food support were working people simply struggling with high housing costs, low wages and a rise in the cost of living – in additional to benefit delays.
Foodbank usage in Chichester and Bognor is increasing faster than the national average.
A report released by the Trussell Trust has revealed that from April 2018 to March 2019 Chichester District Foodbank fed 2,865 people, including 1,171 children, a rise of 22 per cent.
The Bognor Foodbank handed out 3,093 emergency food parcels during the same period, a ‘huge’ increase of 32 per cent year on year.
It comes as the Trussell Trust reported on a ‘record increase’ in foodbank use across the country, with concerns over a growing number of people coming in for food parcels due to issues with Universal Credit.
Nationally, the charity said it had given out 1.6 million food parcels to people in crisis, a 19 per cent increase on the previous year.
Chichester District Foodbank is backing calls from the Trussell Trust to reduce the five-week waiting time for people moving on to Universal Credit.
Joanne Kondabeka, Foodbank manager of Chichester District Foodbank, said that since the advent of the new benefit, average usage had jumped from 166 people a month to 265.
She said: “No one in the Chichester district should need a foodbank’s help. We want to see an end to local people needing emergency food at all.
“It doesn’t have to be this way – our benefits system is supposed to protect us all from being swept into poverty. Universal Credit should be part of the solution but currently the five-week wait is leaving many without enough money to cover the basics. This isn’t right.
“Until we reach a future where foodbanks are no longer needed, we’ll continue to provide vital support when it matters most.
“We’re dedicated to ensuring that people in our community without enough money for food are able to access emergency support.”
Sue White, from Bognor Foodbank, also said that, anecdotally, the majority of the increase in foodbank users had been down to the benefit change.
“Universal Credit is a big issue for us because a lot of people are coming in during the five-week wait while they’re waiting for money initially, some are finding it’s just not stretching far enough.”
Rise in rural areas
In Midhurst, a satellite outlet of the Chichester District Foodbank, coordinator Chrisse Abbott said that Universal Credit wasn’t the whole problem.
Rather, the higher cost of living for many people was simply too much for those feeding a family on a lower income.
She said that over the Easter holidays, the Midhurst branch handed out 117 lunch boxes to children who would be in receipt of a school meal during term time. Each box contains enough food for ten lunches to help tide families over.
This year, the figure was higher than the amount of boxes given out by the foodbank over Christmas, which is typically busier.
Chrissie said: “It’s not all down to Universal Credit, we don’t think it helps people but
It’s mainly low income families working as hard as they can to keep things going
it’s mainly really low income families, working as hard as they can to put food on the table and to keep things going, and it doesn’t get any better.”
Being in a rural area also added costs such as running a car to get to a place of work, she said, or not being able to shop around for cheaper products due to the nearest supermarket or collection of shops being further away.
Families and other foodbank users were also faced with a general increase this year in the cost of living as the pound dropped, while wages have still not increased in line with the housing cost.
Joanne said one issue was the lack of social housing in the Chichester district, which also has foodbank centres in Petworth and Selsey.
“People are having to rely on expensive private rental and as the benefit cap is the same across the country, people are having to find their extra money. If you are on a low income, you don’t have that extra.”
She estimated that around 36 per cent of people using the foodbank were the working poor, people with jobs who were still below the poverty line.
“Everybody thinks it’s a rich area but there are commuters and those retired here, that doesn’t reflect people working here who aren’t well off,” she said.
‘Incredible generosity’
All three foodbank coordinators said they were very grateful for the support of the community.
Sue White said the permanent collection baskets in supermarkets in Bognor were always full when they came in and her hope was that people would consider donating regularly all year round.
She said: “Lots of people have been very generous with Easter eggs and Easter chocolate, lots have given really generous donations but food is going out at quite a rate really, it’s a case of just keeping the shelves stocked.”
Chrissie said she wanted to mention how generous people and organisations in and around the Midhurst area had been: “It’s really helpful to us, particularly being in an area where you don’t have a huge supermarket in the way they do down in Chichester, a lot of people just slip us some money.”
Joanne also said there had been ‘incredible generosity’ from those donating to the Chichester foodbank in food, funds and time and the volunteer team had become something of a friendship group.
She said: “Although they are giving to the food bank and to the charity, it’s a great place to meet people and make new friends.
“Most of my team have been people who have just retired and have been twiddling their thumbs – especially males that have lost their friendship group as it was at work and the foodbank has given them a new group of friends.
“I’ve seen that myself and they’d say that too themselves – they often go out for a coffee and do things together.
“Although they’re giving to the foodbank and it really help us, it also helps them with meeting people and making friends themselves.”
Since it started in 2012, Chichester District Foodbank has fed 14,221 people. Its children’s holiday lunch pack scheme started in 2016 and supports around 450 children, but all of its work and the work of the Bognor foodbank in Argyle Hall, Argyle Road, is dependant on donations.
Donate to a collection point, foodbank centre or to the Chichester warehouse at St John’s Hall, St John’s Street, Chichester.
You can also donate financially as a business, organisation or individual. Visit www.chichesterdistrict.foodbank.org.uk or bognorregis.foodbank.org.uk.
CHRISSIE ABBOTT MIDHURST FOODBANK