‘I couldn’t afford to run my freezer’
FOOD BANK VOLUNTEERS REVEAL HEAT OR EAT PLIGHT AS ENERGY BILL HIKE HITS THOSE IN NEED
A WEST London man says he gave away his freezer because it cost too much to run.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service from Open Kitchen, a food bank in Hounslow, Graham Weller said he had no choice but to give the freezer away as energy bills became more expensive.
He said: “I got rid of everything I had in my freezer and gave it away. I couldn’t afford to run it.”
Mr Weller comes to Open Kitchen several times a week to collect prepared meals and food packages, and also volunteers there, helping give out food parcels to others who need them.
Since energy prices began to rise last autumn, Mr Weller, who can’t work because of a health condition, said he has had to choose between having hot food and using gas. He said: “Up until the [energy] prices rose it was alright. Now I get up in the morning, make a flask of hot coffee and then turn the gas off.”
Mr Weller added that he mainly collects prepared food from Open Kitchen, as there is no point taking food that needs gas to cook, and eats the meals cold to save on electricity.
Judith Smith, 50, has been coming to Open Kitchen for 18 months and also volunteers there. She said the increasing costs of living worried her and stopped her sleeping. Ms Smith has been looking for a job for two years and said that she now worries how she is going to pay her bills.
She said: “Until the price of electricity went up I wasn’t that worried, but since they have I am. I didn’t sleep last night.”
Ms Smith added that she had considered giving up her council house because the bills were too high for her and added: “I have lived in my own flat since I was 19 years old and it has been a source of pride that I have had that.”
Ms Smith also volunteers at Open Kitchen, and said she had noticed a sharp rise in the number of people coming to the food bank in the past four or five months. Ehsan Choudhry, founder of Open Kitchen, agreed and said that the number of people coming to the
food bank since the pandemic, and in the last six months particularly.
According to him, there has also been an increase in locals slipping into poverty. He said: “There has been a big change – people are worried as well. They are starting to enquire with us ‘how can we get these free meals?.’ They are preparing themselves in case they face more difficulty.” According to Mr Choudhry, Open Kitchen prepares an average of 400 meals a day, although this can vary.
The food bank provides a mixture of prepared meals, as well as fruit, bread, vegetables and other foodstuffs. It is funded by donations from the charity Muslim Hands, and operates 365 days of the year.
Mr Choudhry said a large variety of people use the food bank, from single people, to those with families, to rough sleepers who have no access to a kitchen. Mr Smith and Mr Weller both told the LDRS that Open Kitchen provided more than just hot food, and said the feeling of community it gave them was important. Mr Weller said: “If it weren’t for these guys, I don’t know where I would be.”
There has been a big change – people are worried as well. Ehsan Choudhry, founder of Open Kitchen