‘A VISIT TO OUR PANTRY WILL GIVE YOU PLENTY OF FOOD FOR THOUGHT MR GULLIS’
Vicar challenges ‘out of touch’mp to come and hear how hard life is for constituents
A VICAR has called for ‘out of touch’ MP Jonathan Gullis to visit his food bank and learn about how difficult life is for his constituents.
Chris Coupe, the vicar of Chell parish, urged the MP to spend time at his church’s Community Pantry, which is used by 250 families with a further 50 on the waiting list.
It comes as Conservative MP Lee Anderson has refused to apologise for comments claiming poor people use food banks because they ‘cannot cook properly’ and ‘cannot budget’. The
Tory MP for Ashfield, in Nottinghamshire, made the remarks during a
House of Commons debate on Wednesday.
In an open letter, Mr
Coupe has urged Mr
Gullis, right, to ‘condone or condemn [his] colleague’s comments and views on the people who need to use food banks to feed their families’.
Mr Coupe wrote: “Our guests, who are also members, of our Community Pantry can cook and can budget.
“They obtain food each week to prepare and cook the healthiest meals possible for their families. We have seen a massive upsurge in need since the cost of living has risen so much, not least in the cost of basic utilities.”
Members of the Community Pantry, based at Church of the Saviour in Chell Heath, can buy 10 items for £4, 15 for £5.50 or 20 for £7, as well as picking up free items. It runs on Thursdays and the team are considering opening for a second day due to the high level of demand since it launched last summer.
Mr Coupe told The Sentinel he had previously invited Mr Gullis to visit the pantry but had not received a response. He urged the MP to speak to local residents and listen to ‘how difficult life is’.
He said: “The Government is pouring millions of pounds into Stoke-on-trent but it doesn’t filter down. It makes no difference whatsoever to people having to choose between heating and eating. “I want Jonathan Gullis to come here for a couple of hours, without a big entourage, and sit and listen to his constituents without churning out all the blurb from the Government. I hope it would go in when he hears how difficult life is.
“MPS have very high salaries and the folk who come to the pantry could never aspire to anything like it. We have 250 families that come to the pantry and another 50 on the waiting list – it’s the only way they can make ends meet, especially with rising energy costs and the removal of the extra Universal Credit money.
“I think Jonathan Gullis is out of touch with what is happening in his own constituency and that’s why I want him to come and listen. If he can spare the time to volunteer to teach during the pandemic he can spend a couple of hours with us.
“I feel disheartened that he doesn’t seem to grasp what life is really like for people.”
The Sentinel has approached Mr Gullis for comment.