Food Bank User Expresses Fear Over Christmas Amid Financial Struggles

A food bank user stated she is too apprehensive to even begin contemplating Christmas, as she navigates her life on a day-to-day basis. Samantha Price, who utilizes the Rhymney Valley service in Caerphilly county, observed that her financial resources are diminishing while costs and prices are escalating. She remarked, “Things are really expensive for us,” further specifying, “Toiletries, food, ladies’ hygiene items. Money is going down but everything is going up.” The anti-poverty charity Trussell reported that its network of food banks distributed more than 80,000 emergency food parcels throughout Wales between April and September of this year. Among these provisions, 29,000 were designated for children experiencing hunger, with 62% of the total parcels provided to households with children aged 0 to 16. Trussell urged the Welsh government to implement “decisive action.” The government responded by affirming its ongoing commitment “to be determined to do everything we can within our powers to tackle poverty.” Samantha additionally commented, “This foodbank in Aberbargoed is really important for me to be able to feed my child,” and explained, “My benefits have been stopped. “I was really worried about shouting out, but I am really glad I did because I have met a fabulous group of people, and it has helped me out massively.” Approximately 19,000 individuals visited a food bank for the first time between April and September. However, Samantha, who is 46 and has a 12-year-old daughter, noted that the initial visit is not always easy. She shared, “I think it was embarrassment,” adding, “People don’t tend to talk about it. I first came here in about 2018. “I had just lost my job. No income coming in. I am so glad I did come and ask for help. These are brilliant people.” Samantha remains unemployed and is awaiting her first universal credit payment, having been transferred from employment support allowance at the beginning of the month. The average waiting period for this payment is five weeks. Regarding Christmas, she stated, “[Christmas] is really stressful,” and confessed, “It scares me.” She elaborated on her coping strategy: “I have to take it day by day, otherwise I’ll lock myself away and just dwell on my thoughts.” She concluded, “I feel very worried and stressed, sometimes low because perhaps I am overthinking things. But then I am not really overthinking things at all am I, because it is really hard.” Trussell indicated that while nearly 6,000 (7%) fewer food parcels were provided by them across Wales compared to the same period last year, the figure of 80,000 parcels in the first six months of 2024 still represents a 42% increase from the corresponding period in 2019. The charity emphasized that the demand for emergency food remains persistently high. Steve Evans Jones from Rhymney Valley food bank remarked, “It’s heartbreaking,” and added, “Our food bank is quite a busy food bank.” He further detailed, “Last year we fed 5,500 people from our three hubs and that is in a geographical area where about 30,000 people live,” stating, “That is a massive number of individuals and families facing destitution on a daily basis.” A spokesperson for the Welsh government announced, “The cabinet secretary recently visited Wrexham foodbank to announce an additional £700,000 for the fuel bank foundation.” The spokesperson also confirmed, “We will be making our spending decisions as we develop our draft Budget in the weeks ahead, and it will be published next month.”