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Real Stories
“The foodbank was a lifesaver.” Your support is helping us to change lives.
An idea from a Cub Scout
My son’s cub group recently looked at issues of global poverty and were set homework to explore one aspect of poverty. He decided to look at food and health issues and was upset to find out that in the UK so many families and children are short of money for food. He came up with the idea of spending one week’s pocket money on food for the foodbank, trying to get as much as he could for that amount. He then challenged the rest of the pack to do the same. As it was over Easter not everyone managed to do it, but we do have a few bags of food to donate based on the list you provide on your website. As my son came up with the idea he’d really like to deliver the donations himself, if that’s ok, rather than dropping them off into a collection point in a supermarket.
A Recent Client’s Story
I live in a council house with three bedrooms. As a family we moved there in 1964 and it was my mother and fathers house. After 7 years of failed marriage I moved back to look after my mother and father who were not in good health. They subsequently died and now I live on my own. I have to pay £25 bedroom tax and £10 council tax. I am on job seekers allowance of £73 per week. This leaves me with £38 per week for gas, electricity and food (and everything). Without the foodbank I would starve!
“Without the Foodbank I would starve”
An Ormskirk Volunteer’s Story
I volunteer with our local FoodBank. I can honestly say I knew very little about Foodbanks, or how they operated, or who they actually helped. Could anyone turn up? What sort of food did they receive? How much food?
Our local FoodBank is part of the Trussell Trust, which means clients can only come to us following a referral from an agency such as CAB, Health Visitors and The Jobcentre.
Clients are provided with 3 days worth of food. We have a list which we adhere to but also we pack bags when we have first chatted to the client and know a little more about them. We try to pack each bag individually and specific. We don’t want wasted or unused food. We try to pack and think about the meals the client could make with the items given.
Today I packed some food bags for a local lady living by herself who had empty cupboards and little money. She needed the food, that was without question, but what she also needed was help and advice, someone to talk to, someone to listen to her. Through my work with the Foodbank I see many very sad and lonely people. Many have spent years caring for sick relatives, and then suddenly, one day, find themselves alone.
Many of the clients simply feel they have nowhere to turn and the Foodbank, not only provides desperately needed food, but respite from the day to day worries, if only for a short while.
Everyone in the Foodbank are volunteers, we are not paid, we are there because we want to help, and listen.
We had an older gentleman the other day, who was proud, he didn’t want help. He had no gas or electric and just kept warm and cooked over a coal fire. He had simply got too desperate to be able to say no to the food voucher. We packed his bags carefully and thoughtfully with items he could use, given his circumstances. He stayed and chatted and relaxed.
The Foodbank is not just to hand out food, it’s a part of the community, we are a friendly face, a listening ear and never the last step, always the first.
Holly’s Story
“The people at the foodbank were wonderful, they understood and saved us.”
Having always worked and never claimed benefits, Holly, 29, was bringing up her four-year-old daughter, Phoebe alone. She was determined to give her the best possible start in life, but when Phoebe suddenly fell ill, Holly was forced to turn to a foodbank for help.
The council flat that Holly was living in was in a deprived area with drug dealing and dog fouling taking place in the corridor outside her door. Holly was adamant that her daughter should have a better environment to grow up in and was offered alternative accommodation near her parents but at double the cost. As well as borrowing money from her parents to meet the cost, Holly was working part time. At the same time, she had been selling second-hand clothes online and the shop she was working in noticed its success and offered her a space selling clothes in their shop.
Under normal circumstances, Holly could just about scrape by, but when her daughter became poorly and had to spend three weeks in hospital, she was forced to close the shop temporarily. When Phoebe recovered, they returned home to empty kitchen cupboards, bills racking up and no income to support them.
Holly felt unable to ask her family for help again and after discussions with the local Citizens Advice Bureau she was referred to the foodbank.
Holly said: “The people at the foodbank were wonderful, they understood and saved us.”
Although Holly’s situation is still precarious, knowing the foodbank is there in an emergency is a huge weight off her shoulders.
Richard’s Story
“Without the foodbank, I don’t think I would be here today.”
Having worked in the police force for six years, followed by 12-years in the Royal Military Police, Richard, 49, from New Milton, had always considered himself fit and healthy. However, this all changed when a chest infection quickly developed into a heart condition and he suffered from two major strokes followed by 19 mini strokes, leaving him unable to work.
Richard’s situation deteriorated further when he separated from his wife and moved out of their family home, where, unfortunately due to this change of address his Employment Support Allowance (ESA) was delayed. As a result of his serious heart condition Richard needs 35 tablets a day, but the cost of travelling to collect his prescriptions left him without enough money for food, and his local Citizens Advice Bureau referred him to the foodbank.
Although Richard admits he never expected to be in this situation, on arrival he was put at ease straight away. “The volunteers were fantastic, offering a chat and a shoulder to cry on. I suffer from depression as well and without the foodbank I don’t think I would be here today,” he said.
Richard looks forward to seeing his 10-year-old daughter every weekend but admits he has skipped meals on a few occasions so she can eat. He explains: “It’s a really bad situation that people have to decide whether they can feed themselves, feed their children or put the heating on. It’s a case of having to budget or having to go without.”
At the moment things are still tough for Richard, he’s on the waiting list for a heart transplant and will be on medication for the rest of his life, but he’s grateful that the foodbank is available if he ever needs some extra help.