A Trussell Trust foodbank operating in Northern Ireland has warned of the 'difficult winter ahead' after planning for months to help families tackle the cost of living crisis.
Foyle Foodbank in Derry has spoken of the growing numbers of people using their service and their concerns amid the rapidly worsening crisis across the city.
The warning comes after new figures show that almost 5,000 children across Derry and Strabane are relying on emergency food parcels.
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The foodbank, based in Springtown Industrial Estate, provides emergency food and toiletry supplies to people in need, as well as offers financial advice and support.
Meanwhile, while comparing the usage of Trussell Trust foodbanks from 2019/20 to 2021/22, Derry City and Strabane District Council experienced the biggest increase of any local authority.
In Derry City and Strabane, usage increased from 4,877 in 2019/20 to 10,988 in 2021/22, an increase of 125%.
Karen Mullan, Strategic Development Officer for Foyle Foodbank, told MyDerry that there had been a "steady increase" throughout the year, with the worse expected ahead of the winter period.
She said: "We are beginning to see a people need to use the foodbank on more than one occasion. We are seeing a steady increase in the number of people in the city that are turning to the food bank.
"People's cost of living is continuing to increase - whether that be clothes, food, bills, car and getting to work - and so us providing one parcel isn't enough.
"We have already seen a dip in the number of items being brought into us from the public but people are very generous and that does remain. You always find that those who have the least will give the most.
"When we put a call out the people of Derry usually respond in any way they can. We're usually able to stay afloat and we have a brilliant volunteer group here as well."
Karen said while the increase in people using the service has so far been gradual, she expects a dramatic rise as the cost of living overwhelms more people this winter.
"We have been planning for many months ahead of the autumn and winter period," she added. "We expect this winter to be one of the worst that we've ever experienced.
"We have put preparations in place to ensure that we have the capacity to be able to meet the increased demand. Christmas is usually a busy period anyway for the food bank but we expect a further increase because of the cost of living crisis hitting people's pay packets really hard.
"We have already seen families who are working and they are having to come along and get one parcel a month, just to see them over. We have refugees and asylum seekers that wouldn't have been here before and we're supporting them as much as is required.
"And there is a fear that we might not have enough [food] because we are an open door service and we're not sure of the numbers in terms of the increase just yet but we're hopeful because of systems we have in place that we'll get through it."
SDLP MLA Sinead McLaughlin said it was "deeply distressing" that thousands of children were relying on emergency support.
“These statistics bode very ill for this winter," said the Foyle MLA “The fact that in 2022 almost 5,000 children across Derry and Strabane are relying on emergency food demonstrates the scale of the crisis that is facing our society and evidence of how the economy is simply not working for people across our city.
"The truth is that we can never normalise the existence of food banks in our society. It’s unconscionable that the inequalities that were present before the current crisis have only been exacerbated in recent months.
"People across Derry are genuinely terrified of how they will cope amid spiralling prices and unsustainable costs and we will all need to do everything possible to support local services throughout the months ahead and get help to those who need it."
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