For many in Belfast, The People's Kitchen, formerly St Patrick's Soup Kitchen, has been a lifeline at some of the darkest moments in their lives.
The driving force behind the foodbank, Paul McCusker, says the demand for their help has reached unprecedented levels.
"I've been doing this work 10 years and I've never seen the need as high," he told Belfast Live.
Read more: North Belfast food bank now opening five days a week due to rising demand
"We're just fighting every day to make sure we have enough supplies and food.
"We use the word crisis quite a lot, but I would call it a disaster to be honest.
"At the minute, the need out there is just frightening."
The SDLP councillor has become synonymous with relief efforts for those experiencing poverty and he is uniquely placed to offer insight.
Last week, the foodbank was forced to put out an appeal after running out of food - an occurrence that has sadly become too regular.
"Because the demand is so high, most days we run out of food and we're having to go out and buy more," said Paul.
"Thankfully, the public have been very supportive financially and otherwise and we had people even from Derry getting in touch to help."
Paul told Belfast Live that it isn't just those out of work who are struggling to make ends meet amidst a brutal cost-of-living crisis.
"People also who work, we had a guy recently walk off a building site, who's got a family at home and he was struggling to buy food," he said.
"Unfortunately what we're seeing is that the situation is getting worse and people are more distressed when they present to us.
"A lady walked for miles to come to us last week, she had two children with her.
"She was that hungry that we gave her a packet of pancakes, and she ate them in front of us, she was that hungry and she'd walked for so long.
"We've stories of mothers and fathers going for days without food to feed their children, so the situation is dire."
One of the things that the People's Kitchen are keen to emphasise is that they will never turn anyone away - Paul said they are aware that there are those who don't want to admit they need help.
"There's still a massive stigma and I know people out there are struggling and there are those in the community going without food," he said.
"What we're saying is don't be afraid to reach out, whether that's through our social media or the phone number - we provide a service out to the community if they can't get to us."
As for the long-term picture, the man behind the People's Kitchen says the thinking has got to change.
He has called for more proactive measures from those in charge, rather than waiting until it reaches a nadir before addressing the issue.
"We hear talk about strategies, talk about all those things, but we don't see outworkings from those," he said.
"It's all crisis response, that's not good enough.
"We need more support around prevention, stepping in for people before they get into that crisis situation.
"Foodbanks should not exist - but we're seeing more foodbanks open every week in Belfast and across Northern Ireland.
"More financial support for those people experiencing poverty is what is needed and more support to assist them out of poverty.
"Particularly when there's children involved, it's heartbreaking, seeing people coming here crying, saying they haven't eaten in two days.
"In 2022, I think it's just a disgrace.
"We need long term measures here that are going to have a meaningful impact on people's lives."
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