Challenge Poverty Week: How lockdown has trebled demand at some Yorkshire food banks

Sydnie Corley, co-chair of York Food Justice Alliance

At York Food Justice Alliance, our aims are to eradicate the need for food banks and to challenge stereotypical images of poverty and food security.

We have been running an unofficial food bank for a few years and we have seen a dramatic rise in numbers and a big change in the circumstances of people, with many needing help just to pay for a basic living.

The steep rise in the cost of household essentials, rent and transport has increased the cost of living in York, a city that is seen as affluent.

Households that are over the threshold of applying for help, such as not quite qualifying for free school meals or Universal Credit, are being affected as they are stuck in high rental properties and can no longer afford the rent. This needs to be addressed now.

A lot of jobs in York are low-paid and zero-contract roles and are often taken by students and single people due to the demand of flexible living from the employers. More and more qualified members of the public are unable to get work due to this inflexibility or being over-qualified, with a lack of skilled jobs in the city.

The Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically enhanced these issues, more than doubling the need for food banks.

Many people do not qualify for the food support as their income is deemed too high, even though their cost of basic living for rent, bills and food is not sufficient. This is surely unacceptable in such an affluent city and country. People need affordable rent, food, a pay increase that means a true national living wage, and a proactive movement to help people get out of poverty, as once you are in its grasp it is extremely hard to break out.

Universal Credit should be increased every year in line with inflation, as the Government is otherwise enforcing a cut for people on benefits.

Another way to help families is to offer free school meals to households on just slightly higher incomes.

That this has not been implemented is a missed opportunity, affecting the welfare of children and families.

Andrew Grinnell, a facilitator of the Leeds Poverty Truth Commission

COVID has heightened the daily grind of the struggle against poverty. A consistent theme of the three poverty truth commissions held in Leeds is that isolation is poverty’s companion.

To connect with others in 21st-century society often requires money. Popping out for a coffee with a friend is a costly business if it’s a choice between that and putting money on the electricity meter to heat your home.

Over the last seven months we have all experienced increased levels of isolation. For many of us it has meant reaching for our internet device of choice to stay in touch through the plethora of online platforms.

Yet, for those on low incomes, the cost of data and devices added to the lack of experience and confidence in ‘showing up’ online means that ‘virtual’ coffees or cups of tea may not be as accessible.

As one of our community commissioners who struggles against poverty said, “If you are used to clicking on this link then you are fine. If you’ve never had to do it, and don’t know what to do when it goes wrong, it’s really scary.”

That said, it’s often difficult circumstances that expose the resilience, perseverance and creativity of people. One of our other community commissioners identified that many families were struggling to home teach their children because they simply didn’t have the resources necessary for an online education.

By working with civic and business commissioners, devices and data were sourced to enable this. Another community commissioner has built a connection with a tech company who are now helping some of his ‘offline’ neighbours to have internet access.

Crucial to both of these examples is the word ‘with’. To overcome isolation, we need to build relationships with one another. It is in the relationships between business-people, politicians, public servants and citizens that the kind of solutions to living in a fragmented world might be discovered. In short, we will only ‘build back better’ if we ‘build back with’. And that must include those whose wisdom has been shaped through years of resilience, perseverance and creativity in their struggle against poverty.

Clare Day, volunteer at Gleadless Valley Food Bank in Sheffield

A lot of the poverty here has been down to there not being jobs, and a further problem is that people on Universal Credit have to wait more than a month before they receive their first payment.

That’s really daunting for some people and it’s a real struggle. Coronavirus has made things worse, of course. Already a lot of people were out of work and now more are losing jobs or going on furlough.

At the food bank I help at, the numbers have tripled since Covid-19 started. I’ve been helping out at TimeBuilders, a local volunteering project at St Mary’s in

Sheffield, and at one point they were doing 900 food parcels a week. Many people only just had enough before, and they then lost a big percentage of that income on furlough.

It’s especially hard for families, and for people who are new to that, it can be difficult getting the referral to the food bank or overcoming feeling awkward about asking for help.

We need easier ways for people to access food when they are in need, and one thing they have done in part of Sheffield is set up more of a community shop option, where people can pay a small amount, £3, and get a few days’ worth of shopping that would have cost much more than that in the shops. That takes some of the pressure of some people, but there are more people needing help.

A lot of people have struggled and have more debts now. There should perhaps be a scheme to help people bring their debts down or have some of them written off. When people have lost their job and need income, they are more likely to take a loan and then they’re stuck, even though what has happened hasn’t been their fault at all.

A fund to help people who have got debt would be a good idea.

It would really help to take more pressure off people who have lost their jobs, especially families with children, because nobody should have to miss meals as a result of this.

Gavin Aitchison, Church Action on Poverty worker and part of the Challenge Poverty Week coordinating team

Challenge Poverty Week is a simple idea. It is a moment for us all to focus on the inspiring work being done to prevent or alleviate poverty in our communities, and a chance to talk about what could be done differently.

Many of this week’s events are led by people with personal experience of poverty, and only by truly listening to such voices can we fully understand it and identify solutions.

Groups in Yorkshire, the North East and Greater Manchester have come together online to talk about potential solutions. National discussion events are also being held; a short film was premiered on Tuesday; and today sees the launch of an anthology of poetry inspired by the pandemic, including works by first-time writers living in poverty.

This is the first Challenge Poverty Week in England and Wales, but organisers were motivated by its success in Scotland. There, over the past seven years, it has becoming increasingly diverse and effective, easing stigma, nurturing a can-do determination to build a better society and driving discussion about solutions to poverty.

When I visit community-run projects around Yorkshire and elsewhere, I am frequently struck by the immense kindness of so many people. People share supplies, ideas, time and money to ensure neighbours and strangers alike can stay afloat. The majority of us instinctively want to look out for one another, as we saw from the start of the pandemic, with street-by-street WhatsApp groups springing up, and neighbours checking in on one another.

Compassion alone won’t bring social justice, however. We must question and challenge systems that hold people back. We should talk about the design of our benefits systems, regional inequalities, the lack of affordable housing and many other issues.

We should talk now about the disproportionate threat the pandemic poses to people in poverty, creating unavoidable additional debt, and increased risk of homelessness.

Far too many people in our society, especially now, are struggling against the constant pressures of living in poverty. Yet, large elements of the economy can be redesigned, and this week solutions are being presented.

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today.

Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers.

So, please - if you can - pay for our work. Just £5 per month is the starting point. If you think that which we are trying to achieve is worth more, you can pay us what you think we are worth. By doing so, you will be investing in something that is becoming increasingly rare. Independent journalism that cares less about right and left and more about right and wrong. Journalism you can trust.

Thank you

James Mitchinson