Food Bank Usage Increases Over Five Years

As colder weather arrives, food banks throughout the West Midlands are preparing for what is typically their busiest period annually. Data from The Trussell Trust indicates that the need for food parcels and other essential provisions in the West Midlands has grown by 64% over the last five years. In addition to serving more first-time clients, the charity reported an increase in families with children and individuals over 65 utilizing its services. Erol Mehmet, a service user, stated, “Without these two bags I won’t be eating, without the food banks, no one will be eating.” A food bank situated at St John’s Church in Sparkhill, Birmingham, provides assistance to approximately 50 individuals weekly, relying on donations from supermarkets, local businesses, and community members. Julie Rollason, who receives benefits after being unable to continue her work as a carer due to ill health, has been accessing the food bank while awaiting her next payment. She shared, “To be honest with you… I didn’t want to come in, because I didn’t want people looking at me,” adding, “As if to say ‘well, what’s she doing here?'” Rollason explained, “This time I’m waiting to get paid on Tuesday so it will tide me over until Tuesday. It’s not very often I do come here.” Benjamin, a pensioner who described himself as dependent on benefits, mentioned he also uses the service for “a little bit of help once a month.” The Trussell Trust, which supports a network of food banks across the UK, confirmed that overall demand for its services in the region has risen since 2019. However, the charity noted a slight decrease in usage compared to the same period last year, attributing this to the emergence of other community food banks in the area. Andrew Scott, from Trussell, commented, “There has been perhaps an increase in the up rate of benefits payments.” He continued, “We would like to see that increase even more to help address the level of need at our food banks, but that is a small step in the right direction.” Mr. Scott further observed that the demographic of individuals requiring assistance has also shifted over the past five years, with a greater number of first-time users accessing these services. He elaborated, “We have seen more families with children having to come to food banks. We’ve seen an increase in over 65s also coming to food banks.” Meanwhile, in Shropshire, a food bank in Whitchurch has provided meals for approximately 1,100 people over the last six months, including around 400 children. Alan Scutt, the manager, reported that this figure represents a 12% reduction compared to last year, yet it still signifies an increase since pre-pandemic times. Mr. Scutt stated, “We have a lot of single young men that come to the food bank, many of which are struggling to deal with the complexities of life.” He added, “Most of the situations are related to low income and debt, and those two go hand-in-hand.” Scutt also noted that individuals find it difficult to seek help and are “devastated” by the necessity of visiting a food bank. The food bank supplies over 100 families with sufficient provisions for a Christmas dinner, alongside stocking their cupboards when children are not attending school. Mr. Scutt further explained, “Many of them are even stopping using their cookers, because the cost of putting the oven on is too much for them, so therefore we have to adjust the sort of food that we provide.” For updates, BBC Birmingham can be followed on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content of external websites. Information regarding our approach to external linking is available.