Newquay food bank boss calls for Budget to ease cost of living pressure
Zoe Nixon says changes to housing, benefits and transport could ease the pressure on struggling families.
A food bank manager in Newquay is calling for the government's upcoming Budget to ease the pressure on struggling households, as new research suggests 410,000 people in the South West are at risk of needing a food bank this year.
That figure, from anti-poverty charity Trussell, marks an increase of 55,000 people since 2024/25, according to analysis from WPI Economics.
Zoe Nixon, chief executive of Newquay Food Bank, said she wants to see "something that significantly eases the pressure on households" from the Budget, pointing to a range of issues she believes need addressing.
Ms Nixon said local housing allowances in Cornwall don't come close to covering rents in the area.
"If you live in Cornwall, you have that standard allowance, and it simply isn't enough to cover your rent — it's a significant shortfall," she said.
She also pointed to childcare and public transport as barriers preventing people from working more hours, saying many people in Cornwall have no choice but to own a car to get to work.
"The minimum wage is not enough to pay the real living wage," she said.
"We've got employers that are recruiting less because they simply can't afford to take on enough people to do the work."
Ms Nixon drew a comparison with the furlough scheme during the Covid pandemic, saying it showed how a relatively small change to household income could make a big difference.
"We managed to react quickly and effectively as a country. It made a huge difference to people on the front line, and actually food bank use went down," she said. "It just goes to show, £20 a week in people's household income is all it takes to start unravelling some of those really complicated things that make it difficult to afford the essentials."
The wider picture across the South West
According to anti-poverty charity Trussell's research, one in eight people (12%) in the South West said their household had run out of food in the past year and couldn't afford to buy more.
A further one in twelve people (7%) said they'd had to cut back on food in the previous three months to afford other essentials, such as housing costs, transport or heating.
Across the UK, one in eight parents (12%) said they'd had to turn to loans, credit or informal support from friends or family to meet their children's needs in the last six months, while one in twelve parents (8%) said they'd skipped meals so their children could eat.
Trussell says the best test of the Prime Minister's plan to tackle the cost of living will be whether food bank need falls, and the charity is calling for urgent action ahead of the Budget to ensure more people can afford the essentials.
Helen Barnard, Trussell's director of policy and research, said the Prime Minister "must renew Labour's manifesto promise to end the need for emergency food, start strong in his first Budget, and make this a measurable goal for his government's ten-year plan to raise living standards."
"People just a few streets over from you are sitting in the dark to save electricity, skipping meals so their kids can eat, feeling invisible and alone as they try to get by for weeks and weeks without any support," Barnard said.
Ms Nixon said anyone struggling should not be put off asking for help because of stigma.
"Please, please, please, if you are needing help from a food bank, go," she said.
"Nobody is going to judge you. If you need the help, get yourself in there, because a problem shared is a problem halved."