Pressure on food banks set to continue, warns food poverty consortium

Some Shropshire food banks saw a ten-fold increase in demand at the height of the coronavirus crisis, it has been revealed.

The pandemic has pushed more people than ever to the brink of financial crisis – and the hardship looks set to continue, Shropshire Food Poverty Alliance has warned.

The consortium, made up of public bodies, faith groups and third sector organisations, has highlighted the dramatic increase in food poverty across the county since the pandemic took hold.

Speaking at a meeting of Shropshire’s Health and Wellbeing Board, Shropshire Food Poverty Alliance coordinator Emily Fay said charities, voluntary groups and businesses had risen to the challenge of supporting those in need in their communities.

She said: “Before Covid came along, the main concern for us was around people not being able to afford food but lockdown created lots of issues around people accessing food, particularly those who were vulnerable or shielding.

“Food banks have had a really challenging six months. Many food bank volunteers and indeed coordinators fell into the shielding category, which caused immediate problems for food banks, which are very small community organisations.

“They needed to recruit new volunteers, and they also had to change their operation so it was Covid-safe.

“They very quickly saw an increase in demand. The demand has been varied across the county. In some areas it was reported that demand was ten-fold, in some areas it was four-fold, and other areas said the demand did not go up at all.

“Food banks have received enormous support from the community. They rely on community donations but they are also seeing support from local businesses.

“For example in Market Drayton the local brewery lent its delivery drivers and vans to change the service over to delivery-only, which of course meant it was much safer.”

Ms Fay said new food banks had started up around the county during the pandemic, including those in Bishop’s Castle and Gobowen, as well as other community food projects like Wem Store Cupboard.

Meanwhile Shrewsbury Food Hub and OsNosh in Oswestry had adapted their work to enable them to continue providing their vital services while ensuring they were Covid-safe.

Ms Fay also praised the “tremendous effort” that had gone into making sure people presenting as homeless were housed and fed. She added: “This has really reduced the pressure on food banks but now these clients are starting to return.”

Ms Fay said the extension of free school meals and the government and council food parcel schemes for those on the shielding list had helped to ensure “everyone who was vulnerable could access food”.

She said: “And then we have ad the amazing efforts by the mutual aid groups who have really worked at a neighbourhood level to help people with shopping, getting prescriptions and other essential services.”

Businesses had also adapted to taking telephone payments and delivering goods, she added.

Ms Fay said: “The key learning from all of this is the role that local organisations played in both identifying need and creating avenues for support.

“In some areas GP practices have played a crucial role in this, Pontesbury and Ludlow are the places that spring to mind, and in other areas it’s the town and parish councils and local councillors.

“There has been so much community support and I think it is really important that we continue to work with these communities and individuals. There have been so many partnerships which have grown which, if there are future lockdowns, will be really important.”

Ms Fay said it was likely that the current pressures on food banks would continue, particularly with winter on the way, unemployment on the up and the furlough scheme coming to an end, but she stressed the need to find more long-term solutions.

“Food banks are actually reporting a change in the types of people they are supporting,” said Ms Fay.

“They are seeing more families but they are also seeing new people who have never really expected to use a food bank or indeed claim benefits before.

“This group creates a bit of a challenge because they tend to have high outgoings and they never expected to lose their income.

“Existing organisational structures are not really set up to support them.

“The risk is that we are going to see more people falling into a chronic food poverty situation.

“I think we need to really think through what support this group is going to need as food banks are really just set up as a crisis response where you get a food parcel for a few weeks at a time.

“I think the key issue is making sure people are aware of what support is available in Shropshire but also encouraging people to come forward for this help.”