A Merseyside foodbank has seen its stocks of key items hit an all-time low as the country faces a cost of living crisis.
Last weekend, St Helens Foodbank said that its stock of sugar, milk and juice - all key items for the food parcels that it provides - was at an all-time low.
The organisation, which has six foodbank ‘hubs’ across the town and is run in partnership with St Helens churches, the Hope Centre and the Trussell Trust, took to Twitter to call for extra donations.
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Having served over 900 people last month and anticipating an similar level of demand in weeks to come, the foodbank will not be able to function without donations.
Sophie O'Neill, volunteer coordinator at the foodbank, spoke to the ECHO about the recent stock shortages and the challenges faced by the organisation.
She said: “The food parcels that we put together are based on a list that Trussell Trust provides us with.
“It’s been nutritionally balanced to provide a three-day food parcel to individuals in crisis.
“Some of the key things that we put in - juice, milk, sugar, tinned fruit, jam, rice pudding - are things that we just don’t get a lot of donations of.
"That really impacts what people can do with the food that they get, but also it’s missing out key nutritional food groups for them and different ways for them to enjoy the food that they’re getting.”
"Food banks aren’t just for pasta, beans and soup. We need to make sure that people have a diverse range of ingredients and items that they can get nourishment from."
St Helens Foodbank has been running for 10 years. It fed 906 people in December, 375 of whom were children.
The number of people using the foodbank's services has increased over the past 18 months. This is due to a number of reasons - including reductions in Universal Credit payments, an increase in the cost of living and the economic pressures of the coronavirus pandemic.
Sophie said: “At the start of the pandemic we had lower numbers because there were so many incredible community projects across St Helens that were providing additional support, but now we’re seeing that number slowly creep up to the 900s, maybe even 1,000 people in a month.
“We’ve had so many clients come to us stating that the reason they’re in crisis is because of the Universal Credit uplift being taken away from them.
“To some people that £20 a week doesn’t sound like a lot, but it really had a huge impact on what families were able to afford while they did have it.
“For it to be taken away, they’re really struggling.”
For eighteen months from March 2020, Universal Credit claimants received a £20-per-week uplift to their payments in order to assist with the added financial difficulties brought by the coronavirus pandemic.
The uplift came to an end in October 2021. The Government was criticised for not making it permanent but maintained that it was always designed as a temporary measure.
With inflation at a near-30 year high as UK residents face higher National Insurance payments and the prospect a further rise to energy bills when the Government reviews the energy price cap, many people's financial situation will worsen in 2022.
Recent predictions state that energy bills could rise by 50%, causing some households to choose between heating and eating.
As a result of this cost of living crisis, the Resolution Foundation recently said that each household can expect outgoings to increase by £1,200 this year.
Sophie said the increase in the cost of living will have a detrimental impact for people assisted by the foodbank.
She added: “There doesn’t seem to be much support there for people who are on lower incomes or Universal Credit.
“Their gas prices are going up, their electric prices are going up, every other cost for them is going up, but their income isn’t - in some cases it’s going down. We really had to look at what we can do as the foodbank to provide additional support.
“We have citizens’ advice financial inclusion at every food bank hub, and we’ve also decided to partner with the Fuel Bank Foundation.
“This means that we can issue clients who are really struggling with gas and electric prices with a Fuel Bank voucher that allows them to top up their pre-paid meter without it being taken off any debt that they have, so that money goes straight towards heating them.
“We’ve had to make those shifts to be more amenable and to provide additional support, but we’re going to have to find other ways to provide that because the situation for them isn’t going to improve, the way that society is carrying on at the moment."
Low on stock and looking for ways in which to provide the required support for St Helens, the foodbank has received assistance from other organisations in the town, including Cowley College, who are asking staff and students to make donations in the run up to the February half term.
With the foodbank facing these challenges and requiring more donations in order to function, Sophie added: “People should understand that there is no typical person who uses a foodbank.
“It’s people from all walks of life who find themselves in a short-term crisis and need that little bit of support to get them through.
“We always say that you’re only one paycheck away from being in crisis and needing support from a foodbank and it could be any of us.
“We want to make sure that people feel cared for and have a little bit of hope when they come to us. Not just with the food but with everything else that we provide.
“Being able to give them a full food parcel so they don’t have to worry about where their next meal is coming from is something that is super important to us.
“I really hope that message resonates with people so we can boost the donations and make sure that people get a little parcel of food and happiness when they come to us, because you never know if it could be you.”
St Helens foodbank is based at the Hope Centre on Atherton Street. You can find the location of its hubs by clicking here.
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