Food bank staff appeal for help to meet demand
‘DIFFICULT WINTER AHEAD FOR VULNERABLE CITIZENS’
A FOOD bank in Arnold is calling for more help to meet increasingly high demands for its services this winter.
It comes after Arnold Foodbank in Daybrook Baptist Church provided emergency food for 650 people in October and the number of people in need is expected to rise ahead of Christmas.
Alan Maxwell, a trustee at Arnold Foodbank, said: “We should not need food banks and we do not see it getting any better in the next year.”
He added: “We are getting a lot more families. Traditionally, food banks were for people who were single and did not have any family support networks.
“Now we are supporting people from Daybrook, Bestwood and Sherwood. It is changing for us, we are finding families with children are struggling.”
Of those using Arnold Foodbank, 62% are disabled whilst one in five users are in work. A referral is needed to access the food and help provided at the centre run by the Trussell Trust on Mansfield Road.
Alan said: “When they come for food, it is almost the last thing. They almost reach the end of the line when they come to a food bank.
“There is a very big mental health aspect in this, there is a lot of anxiety and stress.”
Regarding dealing with record breaking figures for the food bank, Alan added: “It is a case of we are managing and we hope we can manage through Christmas as we get more donations at Christmas time but that will be the problem in the next year. It is just going to be with us for a long time.”
Councillor Peter Barnes, the Mayor of Gedling, praised the work food banks do.
He said: “I do not know what people would do without it. You have to take your hat off to them, they go beyond their call of duty.”
He added: “This is the state of the economy. The rich are getting richer and the poor and getting poorer. We should not be one of the richest societies and have food banks, we should be ashamed of ourselves.”
Arnold resident Kyle Robinsonpayne, 34, has noticed the increased demand for food banks in the community. He said: “I think it is worrying that more people are needing help and shows that there isn’t the support from the government. It is not just people on benefits, it is working people too.
“You hear it all the time in the community that people are really struggling. This food bank has been a life send to many people. It sometimes feels like we are going back to the Victorian times. The government needs to make sure people are paid properly for a fair day’s work.”
Supermarkets across Nottinghamshire also provide support to Arnold Foodbank alongside personal donations. Co-op has baskets in their stores where customers can donate tinned goods which then get delivered to food banks.
The retailer also donates fresh produce such as bread and cakes which have not sold that day. Co-op stores have started to see the impact of the cost of living crisis on their shoppers.
Peter Cross, a Co-op member pioneer for Lowdham, Burton Joyce and Calverton, said they sometimes get queues out the door at times when items are getting reduced.
Deborah Davenport, community champion from Tesco in Carlton, added: “People are watching what they buy, planning meals and checking for what they need. A lot of customers are using vouchers. People are looking for the reduced items.”
Large Tesco stores have food bank collection points where the retailer tops up the donation. Every day Tesco will donate any leftover items to food charities and what cannot be saved goes to pig farms.
Deborah said: “I do not think any of it should be going in the bin and as a community we can all help and donate what we can. The government should be helping and doing more.
“It is like rationing. You should not be, in the 21st Century, going to a food bank. It makes me feel really sad. I think it is imperative that we support food banks as a nation. Everybody is struggling.”
Arnold Foodbank manager Helen Lloyd said: “We are expecting the food poverty crisis to worsen well into next year, especially as staple food items have increased significantly in price.
“We are observing changes in the types of donations we are receiving. Tinned meat, coffee and other more expensive items have reduced significantly.
“Even if benefits rise in line with inflation, this increase is not realised until April 2023, making this forthcoming winter exceptionally difficult for our most vulnerable citizens.”
The food bank is in need of more volunteers to help during the winter months. Arnold Foodbank runs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1.30pm till 3pm.
We are expecting the food poverty crisis to worsen well into next year. Helen Lloyd, Arnold Foodbank manager