Tuesday 31 December 2013

Happy New Year: Reflections on 2013

As we reflect on the last year, we'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported the work of West Cheshire Foodbank over the last year, generously giving time, food and funds to support people in crisis. Thank you!

A lot has changed since we first opened our doors in November 2012. We continue to be overwhelmed by the generosity of people who choose to volunteer with us and by the organisations and individuals who collect food for people in crisis.  We're also delighted that we now work with almost 50 partner agencies that help us to identify households in need. Anticipating the opening of a new food distribution centre in Neston in 2014 we recently changed our name from ‘Chester and Ellesmere Port Foodbank’ to ‘West Cheshire Foodbank’ too. The most dramatic change we’ve seen however has been the shocking increase in the number of people going hungry in West Cheshire.

As Dave Walker illustrates, the number of people visiting Foodbanks, both in West Cheshire and across the UK is rising dramatically. The sentiment of the caption 'perhaps we should ask why this is happening' echoes that felt at West Cheshire Foodbank. The question as to why so many more people are going hungry is one that was posed in the well attended public debate organised by the Foodbank Action Group. The event's panel, chaired by the Bishop of Birkenhead, involved a local MP, representatives from Church Action on Poverty, the Joint Public Issues team and DIAL House. The panel was complemented by powerful contributions from visitors to West Cheshire Foodbank.

Since then there have been important developments in the debate on Food Poverty and rising Foodbank use with the Commons debate on the 18th December showing that hidden amidst the tribalism of our party political system, an evidence-based consensus could be possible.
So why are more people turning to Foodbanks?
Gillian Guy, the Chief Executive of the Citizens Advice Bureau attributes the “extremely worrying” and “fast-rising need for emergency food vouchers” to the “combined impact of welfare upheaval, low wages and the high cost of living”.
She is concerned by a number of the changes to benefits and says that the “tough and often poorly applied new sanctions regime has had a damaging impact on our clients and is forcing many to turn to emergency food vouchers. Withholding people’s support to get into work, often for spurious reasons, can move people even further away from the jobs market. Over the last year Citizens Advice has seen a 46% increase in the number of advice queries received about JSA sanctions alone… One client, having been sanctioned, was unable to claim hardship payments and was left without anything to eat. Another client had been refused Employment Support Allowance and was appealing the decision. In the meantime he had no money coming in and faced five days without food. A pregnant woman out of work turned to a payday lender. The debt was collected in one lump sum, and a further sum then taken for the already paid loan two weeks later. She then had no money on which to survive. It is vital that with so much upheaval going on in the welfare system that ministers put in place strong protection for people affected."



The message from Church Action on Poverty is the same. The charity’s recent campaign action, which parodies Saatchi and Saatchi’s 1979 Conservative election poster, argues that benefit changes are the primary reason ‘Thousands are going hungry’. This is supported by what we see at West Cheshire Foodbank: almost 60% of people who visit us do so because of changes to or delays in benefits.
A recent example of delay occurred on Christmas Eve as a Department for Work and Pensions “administrative error” left 32,200 people without any support just before Christmas. The evidence we have at present shows, as Oxfam UK has stated, that “our social safety net is failing”. To our disappointment, this understanding appears to have entirely bypassed government ministers who have consistently failed to grasp the painful reality of hunger facing hundreds of thousands of people in the UK today.

Hope for 2014

It is encouraging therefore, to see that key figures in the church do recognise this and have also used their Christmas messages to speak out against the injustices of hunger. It is crucial that 2014 is a year in which we see a greater recognition of the severity and injustice of food poverty from government ministers and witness an appropriate policy response. Initially, we would like to see the government:

- Meet with representatives from the Trussell Trust and other Foodbank Networks
- Publish the long delayed DEFRA report
- Hold a public inquiry into food poverty
 
We hope that this New Year, we can continue to rely on your support and prayers, and that you will join the growing movement speaking out against the injustices of hunger.

To keep up to date with what we’re up to you can follow our blog by email. Just enter your address in the box on the right hand side of the screen. You can also follow me on Twitter by clicking the button below.

Sunday 29 December 2013

Andrew's Story

"I came today as I was in debt with my bank and this left us with £4 to feed a family of 7 in total. As I have two children with special needs I had to come to the Foodbank to help with the weekly shopping. If this was not here we would be struggling so please keep foodbanks here as they help."
 
Our thanks to Andrew, who wrote this whilst collecting emergency food at one of our Centres.

Thursday 19 December 2013

Foodbank Debate: Our Response

Yesterday's debate on Food Banks illustrated just how much the UK population cares about the increase in numbers of people going hungry in the UK. It is not often that a Commons Debate trends on Twitter.
 
We are disappointed that the gravity of the situation faced by those receiving emergency food across the UK and in West Cheshire was not uniformly respected by MPs. We recognise that there is still work to do in ensuring that all members of parliament recognise the human costs of hunger in the UK. We are particularly disappointed by the failure of some MPs in Cheshire West to attend the debate; by the notable lack of representation from the Minister for Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Owen Paterson) and the lack of democratic accountability demonstrated by the Minister for the Department for Work and Pensions (Iain Duncan Smith).
 
We would however, like to extend our sincere thanks to Stephen Mosley MP and Andrew Miller MP for their attendance.
 
We are especially pleased that Stephen Mosley MP:
 
- recognised the work of West Cheshire Foodbank.
 
"At the end of last month, I was privileged to visit the West Cheshire food bank in my constituency. Like all food banks, it is run by a group of hard-working volunteers and supported by generous donations from across Cheshire."
 
- understands that changes to benefits and benefit sanctions are a primary driver of Foodbank use.
 
"My visit to the food bank was an opportunity not just to see the fantastic volunteers who make it happen but to hear first hand the reasons people are using food banks. The results were striking. Figures from my local food bank show that 59% of those who have used the food bank since April have visited because of changes to benefits and a growing number of people are visiting because of sanctions."
 
- supports the Trussell Trust's call for a Public Inquiry into Food Bank use.
 
"[W]e need to find out more about food banks and I back the call from the Trussell Trust and my hon. Friend the Member for South Thanet (Laura Sandys) for an inquiry into their use."
 
- shares our concern over the suppression of the DEFRA commissioned report
 
"We need a clear picture of the role and extent of the banks and we need to know who uses them and why. Then we can have a debate based on the facts. Otherwise, this important debate will always run the risk of being hijacked by politicians hoping to score cheap political points, which does absolutely nothing to help those in need. The university of Warwick has produced a report for DEFRA on household food security and the provision of food aid. I hope that it will be forthcoming."
 
A full transcript of the debate can be found here:  
 
 

Wednesday 18 December 2013

Concern over 'suppression' of DEFRA commissioned report on Food Poverty



Joseph's Story

"My wife is disabled. Her benefits were stopped because she did not attend at the Job Centre. I explained that she was in hospital at the time and was told that my wife needed to re-apply. I have told them that she is house bound and won’t go out of the house and that someone needs to come out to her, they have to get someone to come see her."
 
Our thanks to Joseph, who wrote this whilst collecting emergency food at one of our Centres.
 

WCFB speaking to Dee 106.3 ahead of the #foodbankdebate



MPs Debate Rising Food Bank Use


 
 
 
 
 
Embedded image permalink
 
A debate on rising Foodbank use has never been so important. 60 000 people will need emergency food this Christmas. In order to debate Food Banks, MPs need to attend!
 
West Cheshire Foodbank asked Cheshire West MPs what their plans are. Please get in touch with your MP and let them know you care that people in the UK are going hungry.
 
- Stephen Mosley MP has said he will attend. Say thanks @mp4chester.
 
- Andrew Miller MP has said he will attend. Say thanks @APMiller1949.
 
- George Osborne MP  IS NOT GOING! Ask him why @ George_Osborne.
You can email him osborneg@parliament.uk or ring his office: 020 7219 8214 or 01565 873037.
 
- Graham Evans MP IS NOT GOING! Ask him why @GrahamEvansMP.
You can email him graham.evans.mp@parliament.uk or ring his office: 01606 350 323
 
- Stephen O'Brien MP ISN'T COMMITTING. Encourage him to attend. Email obriens@parliament.uk or ring 020 7219 0584.
 
If you live in a different area visit http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/ to find out who your MP is. Do get in touch with them and ask what their priorities are.
 
- 57% of people visiting #westcheshirefoodbank do so because of changes and delays to benefits
- 15% of people visiting #westcheshirefoodbank do so because of Low Wages
- 10% of people visiting #westcheshirefoodbank do so because of Debt
 

Monday 9 December 2013

Karen

Karen visited West Cheshire Foodbank after having been referred by the Citizens Advice Bureau. She had been moved to the local Refuge from another area following an assault that had resulted in serious and long term injuries. She was given help with food and was also welcomed by several members of the church who offered help and support to both Karen and her two children. The Foodbank supported her until her Benefits were granted, her housing and children's schooling sorted out and she obtained part time work.
Karen now donates to the Foodbank whenever she can. “This is my way of repaying the Foodbank for the help and support I received at the worst time of my life. I don’t know how we would have coped without them.

Friday 6 December 2013

Thanks to the Toddlers at St Johns!

A massive thanks to the Toddler group at St Johns Church in Ellesmere Port for their generous donation of food! They collected 46.6kgs of food!

 

Thank you to Kingsley Primary!

A big THANK YOU to all the pupils and staff at Kingsley Primary School who donated 88kgs of food last Monday!


Thursday 5 December 2013

Foodbanks feed 500,000 since April: New Figures Released by the Trussell Trust

Labour has just announced an Opposition Day debate on foodbanks and UK hunger on 18th December - we’re sure that much of this is down to the fantastic petition launched by a former Foodbank visitor and blogger/journalist, Jack Munroe which has got almost 100,000 signatures since it launched earlier this week.

As today’s Autumn Statement speaks of recovery, The Trussell Trust’s latest figures show that over 500,000 people have received three days’ emergency food from a Trussell Trust foodbank since April alone.

Trussell Trust Executive Chairman Chris Mould says:

‘We’re glad that the economy appears to have turned a corner, but we can’t ignore the reality for millions of British citizens who are facing a tougher winter than ever. Real wages are down, the cost of food is rising rapidly and so is the cost of heating your home. Recovery is not filtering down. Low-income families are teetering on a financial knife-edge. 

Today numbers given three days’ emergency food by Trussell Trust foodbanks since April topped 500,000. That’s why we need urgent cross-party action on food poverty, and why we are calling for an inquiry into the causes of UK hunger.’ He adds: ‘Public support for this week’s petition by Jack Monroe asking for UK hunger to be debated in Parliament has been phenomenal. It proves that ordinary people are deeply concerned about the distressing poverty they’re seeing in their communities. We’re delighted that Labour has just announced an Opposition Day debate on foodbanks and UK hunger on 18th December. It’s an important first step in paying this urgent issue the attention it deserves.’

Update on the Tesco Collection Last Weekend.

Our volunteers & our Tesco colleagues were out last weekend at the 2 Tesco stores in Chester.

Just under 4 tonne of food was collected so a big thank you to all who donated. We also received a gift card from Tesco topped up with 30% of the value of the food collected which can be used to help plug shortages of various items in the warehouse.

The volume of food which you have donated will help us feed nearly 400 people for 3 days and will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Wednesday 4 December 2013

Neston Information Evening

Local community leaders in Neston, working collaboratively with Neston and District Churches Together, have become increasingly concerned with the lack of provision for those struggling in crisis situations in the Neston area. Currently, the nearest Foodbank for Neston residents is based in Ellesmere Port. The story of a pensioner walking to Ellesmere Port from Neston and back to get food for his family when they were in crisis touched and shocked us all.
 
Having assessed that Neston does need its own centre, we are working to establish a distribution centre here for our community. To keep the local community informed of progress and to provide further information we held a Foodbank Information Evening on Friday 29th November in the URC Church Hall.

We were delighted that almost 50 people attended despite the rather wet weather and the host of other activities going on in the community.  The evening was hosted by Alec Spencer, the Development Officer for West Cheshire Foodbank who explained how and why West Cheshire Foodbank operates. We were also delighted to be supported by Rita Walsh and Mike Steenkamp from the Debt Advice Network who so ably highlighted the particular issues faced by those issuing Foodbank vouchers. Our massive thanks  also to Sue Cox who shared her significant experience of volunteering with West Cheshire Foodbank and  highlighted the reasons why so many more people are forced to rely on emergency food. 

As Sue shared with us, we sincerely hope that the underlying causes of food poverty can be addressed and that West Cheshire Foodbank won't be around for long. Unfortunately, present need is both severe and growing at an alarming rate. We are very grateful to all those who have supported this initiative in Neston and for the overwhelming support from the local community, many of whom have already pledged their assistance with collecting food and have generously given their money and time. Thank you all.

West Cheshire Foodbank now hopes to establish a venue in the near future and is looking for the Neston Foodbank Distribution Centre to be operational in the New Year.

Our sincere thanks to the author of this post:
Helen Jones, Secretary, Neston and District Churches Together.
 

Monday 25 November 2013

Important Changes

1]   West Cheshire Foodbank is the new name for Chester and Ellesmere Port Foodbank.

We are responding to the need that we see in the areas surrounding Chester and Ellesmere Port. In the New Year, we are looking at opening a new Food Distribution Centre in Neston. As yet there is not enough support for people in crisis here: one pensioner walked from Neston to Ellesmere Port in order to receive food for his family! We feel it is important that our name reflects the area we serve.

2]   0151 355 7730 is now the main telephone number for our New Office.

3]   info@westcheshire.foodbank.org.uk is now the address you should use for general enquiries. All our Foodbank email addresses now end in: @westcheshire.foodbank.org.uk.

 4] Visit www.westcheshire.foodbank.org.uk  to take a look at our website and find out more about what we do.

5] Our blog address is now www.westcheshire.blogspot.co.uk.

6] For mail and food deliveries, our address is:

WCFB,
Units 3 and 4,
Stanney Mill Industrial Estate,
Dutton Green, Chester, CH2 4SA   
     

Friday 15 November 2013

'Pop Up' at Trinity Ellesmere Port

At the heart of Trinity Methodist Church is the desire to be church in the community; to share who we are and to be there for one another as neighbours in Ellesmere Port. A recent funding opportunity has now allowed us to develop a ‘Pop Up’ approach to sharing cookery skills.
 
The Pop Up was initiated by volunteers who love cooking and the initiative has also been supported by Community Food Workers from Links Healthy Living Centre. Thursday morning is always busy at the community café in Trinity. It seemed the ideal time to try this new approach and to focus on seasonal foods using basic recipes which had potential to be spiced up. The funding allowed us to buy equipment and work directly in the café, so ‘Daily Bread’ was full of good smells as people from across the community visited. Week one was home-made Tomato Sauce. This simple recipe details how to make a simple sauce and shares a number of ideas on how to spice this up. On Thursdays visitors have the chance to taste the food we make, to watch the process and to chat with the cooks. It’s proving a real success and we’d love it if you dropped in to say hello and find out more. If you love cooking and want to pass on your skills, come and get involved.  We’d also appreciate any donations for ingredients to support the Pop Up. A huge thank you to Wendy and Links Healthy Living Centre for all their hard work!
 
‘Pop-up’ is a Trinity Methodist Church Project supported by our Foodbank. The initial £500 investment for this was received from EPNAVCO’s Health and Well Being fund.
 

Tuesday 12 November 2013

Regarding Jenny's Story

Over the last couple of days, Jenny's story has received considerable attention from the public as well as from local and national media. People have been shocked by the idea that someone might be given the wrong advice and have also asked whose role it was to advocate for Jenny in this situation.
 
Our purpose as a Foodbank is to provide people in crisis with emergency food and to signpost our visitors to agencies that can best deal with the underlying causes of that crisis. Jenny visited our Foodbank to bring her neighbour. A volunteer spoke with her and we referred her to Macmillan Cancer Support. Sadly, Macmillan are seeing Jenny's situation repeated across the country. Click here to see a BBC report regarding delays to benefit payments for terminally ill patients. At the Foodbank, we do not have the expertise to advocate for individual visitors and rely on specialist organisations to fulfil this role.
 
Whilst scandalous, the scale, pace and nature of current welfare reforms make Jenny's story neither uncommon nor surprising. Approximately half of all people turning up to Foodbanks are doing so as a direct result of having benefit payments delayed, reduced or withdrawn altogether. Figures gathered by the Trussell Trust and by Chester and Ellesmere Port Foodbank show that both locally and nationally, changes to the benefit system are the most common reasons for people using Foodbanks. These include changes to crisis loans eligibility rules, delays in payments, Jobseekers allowance sanctions and sickness benefits reassessments. These changes are well documented. An excellent report published by Oxfam and Church Action on Poverty can be found here.
 
The growth in the numbers of people we provide with emergency food is a demonstration of the extent to which the 'normal' safety net provided by the state in the form of the welfare state is failing in it's basic duty to ensure that people like Jenny and her neighbour have sufficient income to feed themselves adequately.
 
We are disappointed that there has been no policy response to increasing food poverty in the UK and we strongly support the Trussell Trusts' call for an official and in depth inquiry into the causes of increasing food poverty and the consequent rise in the usage of Foodbanks. 
 

Wednesday 6 November 2013

Jenny

Jenny came to the Chester and Ellesmere Port Foodbank last month, having been diagnosed with terminal Cancer. Her prognosis was three to six months. She already suffered with several chronic illnesses preventing her from working over the last two years and was in receipt of Disability Living Allowance. Having no family she was trying to "put her house in order", ensuring all her bills were paid and saving up for her funeral. Her DLA was stopped; the reason given was that as she was not expected to survive the required time, she did not qualify for this benefit! She came to the Foodbank not for herself but to bring a neighbour who had mental health issues and short term memory problems. He had been 30 minutes late for his appointment at the Benefit office (he had forgotten the time!) and had therefore been sanctioned. He had not eaten for three days. They were both given a meal and the time to talk of their problems and referred to the appropriate agencies for food vouchers and further support and help. Several weeks later Jenny came to the Foodbank to thank everyone for the help and food that was given and the kindness and support that was shown in their time of need. Jenny died three weeks later.
 
Jenny shared her story with one of our volunteers, and requested that we share it with you. We are privileged to do so.
 

Wednesday 30 October 2013

More people receiving emergency food!

Since November 2012, the number of people receiving emergency food from us in Chester and Ellesmere Port has increased dramatically. We are now helping over 400 people every month. This trend is in line with other local Foodbanks, some of whom have witnessed a tenfold increase in visitors as reported recently in The Leader.

















Nationally, the numbers of people receiving three days’ emergency food from Trussell Trust foodbanks has also increased sharply. Between April and September 2013, Foodbanks helped over 350 000 people, triple the number helped in the same period last year. The Trussell Trust says that UK hunger is getting worse and the charity is calling for an inquiry into the causes of UK food poverty and the consequent surge in foodbank usage.

Chris Mould, Executive Chairman of The Trussell Trust says: ‘We said in April that the increasing numbers of people turning to foodbanks should be a wake-up call to the nation, but there has been no policy response and the situation is getting worse. The level of food poverty in the UK is not acceptable. It’s scandalous and it is causing deep distress to thousands of people. The time has come for an official and in depth inquiry into the causes of food poverty and the consequent rise in the usage of foodbanks. As a nation we need to accept that something is wrong and that we need to act now to stop UK hunger getting worse.’                      

Tuesday 29 October 2013

Tomato Sauce: A ‘Pop-Up in the Port’ Recipe

Tomato Sauce

1 onion
1 clove garlic
Drop oil
2 large cans chopped tomatoes
Handful fresh basil or dried herbs
Salt and Ground Pepper

Equipment

Knife, chopping board, pan, large cooking spoon

Method

1. Chop onion and crush garlic
2. Heat oil in pan and gently soften onion and garlic
3. Add tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper
4. Simmer gently for 20 minutes

With your tomato sauce you can.....

• add half a chilli
• add to pasta and grate cheese on top
• add mushrooms, courgette or bacon bits
• stir in tuna and olives and serve with pasta
• use on a pizza base

Sunday 20 October 2013

£545 raised at Ramadhan


A total of 30 people donated £545 worth of food weighing in at 545 kilograms to us whilst observing fasts during Ramadhan. Following their success, the group have been inspired to make this an annual event.

We cannot thank you enough for your support.

Friday 18 October 2013

Neston Market Stall


We really appreciated the support for Foodbank from residents today at our Neston Market Stall, with large numbers of people asking to find out more and wanting to volunteer.
 
Neston residents who receive a voucher currently have to travel to Ellesmere Port or to Chester to receive food. Recognising how difficult this can be, we have started the process of opening a centre in Neston which people can visit to receive food.
 
Our stall was organised and supported by volunteers from across Neston community, all taking the time to speak with people about the work we are doing and inviting everyone to attend the Information Evening at Neston United Reformed Church on the 29th November at 7.30. Please do join us there if you'd like to find out more and get involved.
 

Thursday 17 October 2013

Thankyou to Bishops' Bluecoat!

A massive thanks to the pupils at Bishops' Bluecoat Church of England High School in Chester for collecting food for us!
 
We rely on donations of food from local schools and community groups. Our thanks also go to the staff for their support for our work and their invitation to speak to Years 8 to 11. At Foodbank we welcome the opportunity to engage with people in our community and encourage them to ask the questions we are beginning to...
 
Why is it that, between now and last November, 2989 people in Chester and Ellesmere Port didn't have enough money to eat?
 
Why did the number of people in the UK receiving 3 days of emergency food between April and September 2013 (350 000 people!) triple compared to the same period last year? (Click here to find out more).
 
and finally... what should we - as people who may find ourselves in a crisis situation without warning - be doing about it?
 

Tuesday 15 October 2013

Welcome

Welcome to our new blog!

We'll soon be giving visitors to the Foodbank the chance to share their stories with you here. We'll also keep you updated on what we're up to and share the latest Foodbank news and events that are taking place in Chester and Ellesmere Port. You can follow us by entering your email address in the box just on your right hand side titled 'Follow our blog by Email'. We'd also love it if you can share our blog on Facebook or Twitter.

If you'd like to find out more about us you can always visit our website by clicking here. Thanks!