Foodbank warns 'costs are rising and we're having to buy food so families don't go hungry'
The Northern Devon Foodbank is to launch a campaign calling for more support
The Northern Devon Foodbank is facing a £20,000 shortfall and warning it could run out of budget by Christmas as it prepares to launch a campaign calling for more support.
Last year the volunteer team fed more than 10,000 across seven sites in North Devon – where at some almost 40 per cent of those helped are children.
Across the UK, an estimated 14 million people now report a lack of food with growing numbers of working families turning to food banks - according to research by the Trussell Trust.
Northern Devon's Vice Chair James Craigie says local donations have fallen as the costs of food rises, warning: "Two years ago the food donations that came in would have covered pretty much everything bar specialist food, such as gluten free for example.
"But food price inflation has really hit whilst incomes have stagnated. The amount of food that we're having to buy now in order to meet the gap is phenomenal.
"Pretty much every parcel we give out now has to have something in it which we've had to purchase."
Mr Craigie says the demand for their services has continued to rise and he worries the root causes of food poverty are not being addressed - with a seeming 'societal growing reliance' on services like theirs.
He said: "Back in 2012 when it was the Bideford foodbank the emphasis really was on a temporary relief. What we've found is that this isn't addressing the underlying social problems that we've got in society.
"There is also that thing when it becomes expected - and that foodbanks will always be there.
"We don't believe that anyone should have to rely on charity in order to eat in this country - the ideal day for a foodbank is one where nobody came in because nobody needed us."
Acting Network Operations Manager Sonia Gould says as well as donations they also need more volunteers to help support families - describing the work as 'incredibly rewarding'.
She said: "When people have had a big bill coming in and they have to choose between paying that bill or food and they'll come in, in tears."
She says the team work with the person who then 'can go out with a smile on their face' having been met with kindness and compassion.
Ms Gould says listening is now a key skill for the volunteers, adding: "The food is secondary, in some ways - as they want to talk and they want to offload and they want to share because they can feel like nobody cares."
The latest national figures show three in ten people referred to food banks in the Trussell community are in working households – an increase since 2022 – suggesting paid employment no longer protects people from hardship.
The Trussell Trust - which works with the Northern Devon foodbank, is calling on the UK government 'to urgently strengthen social security and deliver on its manifesto commitment to end the need for food banks'.
The Trussell's survey of people referred to food banks revealed that 'families at food banks are left with just £104 a week after housing costs to cover all living expenses including food, utility bills, travel for work or school, and essential toiletries like shampoo and toothpaste'.
It adds: "This is just 17% of what the average UK household has left after rent or mortgage payments, and lays bare the harsh reality faced by too many people who are struggling to make ends meet."
Brian Cox, actor and Trussell supporter, said: “From my own experience, I know the harsh reality of growing up in poverty and the lasting impact it has. The constant worry of how to put food on the table is a feeling that never leaves you. No child should have to know what a food bank is, let alone need one. But shockingly, in the UK today, families with young children face the highest risk of hunger and needing to turn to a food bank to get by.
“When 30% of people referred to food banks in the Trussell community are part of a household where someone is in work, it's clear that paid work isn’t enough to protect people from hardship.
The UK Government must scrap the two-child limit to ensure children have the best start in life. Because no child should be held back by hunger.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said: “This government is determined to tackle the unacceptable rise in food bank dependence.
"In addition to extending free school meals and ensuring the poorest children don’t go hungry in the holidays through a new £1bn crisis support package, our child poverty taskforce will publish an ambitious strategy later this year.
"We are also overhauling jobcentres and reforming the broken welfare system to support people into good, secure jobs, while always protecting those who need it most."