Hackney Foodbank experiences unprecedented demand
Hackney Foodbank experienced its busiest week in history this winter, surpassing even the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The foodbank, which has been running since 2012, provided emergency food parcels for 907 people in the week before Christmas. Before that, their busiest week was at the height of the lockdown in 2021 when they reached 840 people.
Pat Fitzsimons, CEO of Hackney Foodbank
Pat Fitzsimons, CEO of Hackney Foodbank, said: “This wasn’t a record we ever wanted to set. Things are worse today than they were during the worst weeks of the pandemic, when people were losing their jobs or facing huge reductions in earnings. Food banks were never meant to be a long-term solution and yet here we still are - and the need is worse than ever.
“Years of wages and benefits failing to keep up with rising living costs have taken their toll and the upshot is thousands more people in Hackney struggling to afford the basics. Food prices have increased by 27% in the past two years. Many of the people we support are unable to work due to ill health or disability. If benefits like Universal Credit really kept pace with inflation, food banks like ours wouldn’t be needed. The social security system which should be there to support people in times of crisis isn’t fit for purpose.
“Many of the people we see are malnourished. We meet pensioners who eat cereal for dinner because there’s nothing else in the cupboards and parents who go hungry so their children can eat.”
In 2023, the number of people aged over 65 requiring emergency food parcels from Hackney Foodbank increased by 85% compared with 2022. During the same period there was a 46% increase in children fed. The number of overall referrals to the charity was 56% higher.
Pat added: “The whole of 2023 was bleak – by July we had already fed more people than in the whole of 2022. So many people have been hit by the rising cost of living that our supporters are finding it tough too and food donations have dropped.”
70% of the people who attend Hackney Food Bank come between one and three times. There’s often a long wait for initial Universal Credit payments to arrive and the charity offers a lifeline in the meantime. Responding to the rising number of working poor, the food bank launched a Friday night distribution centre to enable people to collect emergency food parcels after work.
At Christmas the food bank distributed new toys to hundreds of children and every visitor was offered a hamper with festive treats (donated by Snap Inc).
The charity is urging the public to set up monthly giving to support them throughout 2024. Donations of this kind often have the added benefit of being eligible for Gift Aid, which makes them go 25% further.
To support Hackney Foodbank, visit https://www.hackney.foodbank.org.uk/donate