Lee's story

"Lost apprenticeship as could not cope. His godmother with whom he lodged told him to go. He came to Chester from Liverpool as his family is here. Hoping to go to College. Has a job centre interview this afternoon."

Thank you to Lee for sharing his experience, and to the volunteer who listened and recorded it on his behalf.

I've lost my job and my working tax credits...

"In hospital 4 times this year - 3 for operations and once with pneumonia & pleurisy. I have been working as a cleaner/ dinner lady/ barmaid. I have lost one of my jobs and the other doesn't pay if I can't work. Now lost my working tax credits because I am not working enough hours. I have persistent abcesses on groin and coccyx, long-term antibiotics and another operation to come."

Thanks to Susan for sharing this with us.

Joshua's Story

"I'm here today because I have no food or money. For the last two years I have been on a reduced rate of ESA. I had an accident in work. I have damaged my spine. I have had an MRI scan that shows bulging in my neck and lower back. So from my accident I lost my health, home, job and so found myself homeless. But I am not homeless anymore I just have a low income and lots of debt."

Thank you so much to Joshua for sharing his story with us.

Video: Income Inequality in the UK from @highpaycentre

Claire's Story

"I am currently working full time but my partner has a long term illness which means he is unable to work. As we don't claim benefits my wages only cover bills and so we struggled to put food on the table. This is the first time I have visited the Foodbank but I feel welcomed and helped here."

Thank you so much to Claire for sharing her experiences when she visited us at one of our Foodbank centres.

Karen's Story

“I have come to the Foodbank today as I am struggling to keep my family’s head above water, even though I work full time. My husband lost his job and I have two kids, so my wage has gone on bills. The job centre informed us they couldn't help as I worked more than 24 hours per week, without even asking what my salary was, also my son who is in part time college is not entitled to anything so I am supporting the four of us.”

A massive thank you to Karen for sharing this with us.

West Cheshire Foodbank joins End Hunger Fast calling for Government Action

West Cheshire Foodbank has been supporting End Hunger Fast, a national campaign also backed by over 20 charities including Oxfam, Child Poverty Action Group. We were at Westminster for Ash Wednesday (March 5^th 2014), where the Government faced a huge and growing call to take action on welfare, wages and food markets in the 2014 budget from End Hunger Fast.

To mark the start of the 40 day fasting relay, campaigners and church leaders assembled near the Houses of Parliament for a photocall, inviting the public to fast in solidarity with the thousands of Britons going hungry and calling on the Government to take action.

The earlier letter from faith leaders, including 27 Bishops, calling on the Government to act on the national crisis in UK hunger was backed up by 20 leading secular charities, including Just Fair, Oxfam and Child Poverty Action Group, who have thrown their weight behind End Hunger Fast for its official launch on Ash Wednesday in a letter to national newspapers announcing “Hunger has returned to Britain”.

The backing came as fresh statistics gathered from over 400 Trussell Trust food banks around the country vindicated the call for action. The Trussell Trust say that their food banks gave out three days’ emergency food over 600,000 times between April and December 2013, more than in the entire previous financial year (in 2012-13 Trussell Trust food banks gave out three days’ food almost 350,000 times). In addition to these figures, Church Action on Poverty and Oxfam have estimated that a total of over 500,000 people were helped by independent and Trussell Trust food banks in 2012-13. West Cheshire Foodbank has now given out emergency food to over 5000 people since November 2012; a third of these were children.

Meanwhile End Hunger Fast revealed the first wave of faith leaders, MPs, celebrities and poverty campaigners taking part in the “fasting relay” to highlight the need for the Government to act on growing hunger.

The fasting relay was launched today [Wednesday 5th] with a photocall outside parliament. Those taking part in the first week of fasting include:

Comedian Eddie Izzard

Helen Drewery, General Secretary of the Quakers

Rt Rev Michael Perham, the Bishop of Gloucester

Rt Rev Nick Holtam, the Bishop of Salisbury

Rt Rev Stephen Platten, the Bishop of Wakefield

Sarah Teather MP

Fresh research vindicates campaign

The growing body of evidence supporting the campaign was added to today with key new sources of research. New Trussell Trust figures on food banks were joined by an End Hunger Fast poll, surveying 1,000 Britons, which found that over 50% have had to tighten their belts, cutting down on food to pay other bills in the last year. One in five admit to having gone hungry to save money and 85% agreed with the campaign’s call that “no one should go hungry in Britain”.

In a further development Liz Dowler one of the Warwickshire University academics who wrote the Governments own DEFRA study into food banks has come out in support of the End Hunger Fast campaign and backing the Living Wage as a solution, noting “food banks are not a long term solution, the quantities are too small and too piecemeal to meet systematic need.”

Keith Hebden, End Hunger Fast campaign spokesperson said:

“Today is an exciting day, with so many different faith communities and sections of wider society uniting in the call to end UK hunger. We must stop and recognise the growing hunger in our midst.

“I hope others will join and fast for a day, a week or as long as they feel able, in solidarity with the half a million hungry Britons. This is a moral crisis, one we should lament as it calls us to act”

Eddie Izzard, public figure and comedian said:

“It’s shocking to see just how quickly and widely foodbanks are springing up across UK. It’s unacceptable that in the 7th richest country on earth hundreds of thousands of people would go hungry but for these local charities.

“When one in four families is cutting portion sizes and parents are skipping meals to feed their kids it’s time to act. By fasting today I hope to play my part in drawing attention to this massive and growing issue.”

David McAuley, Trussell Trust Chief Executive:

“Seeing the impact that going hungry has on a mum who is at crisis point, and the additional stress and anxiety that it causes, compels us to act. Trussell Trust food banks are providing emergency food and support to hundreds of thousands of people in crisis, but more needs to be done to find ways to resolve the underlying causes of UK hunger. Myself and many of my colleagues will join End Hunger Fast’s stand in solidarity with people in our communities who won’t have a choice about whether they eat tonight. We hope it will place a spotlight on this issue so that practical solutions can be found to help stop UK hunger.”

Helen Drewery General Secretary of Quaker Peace and Social Witness said:

“Quakers are angry that such hunger and inequality exists in Britain. So I’ll be taking part in the fasting chain because I want to stand in solidarity with people who have no choice but to go hungry and because I think that the Government needs to take the issue of hunger more seriously.”

The Bishop of Warrington and Acting Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Revd Richard Blackburn said:

“The scandal of food poverty is something churches across our diocese tackle daily. End Hunger Fast is a wake up call to society, politicians and leaders that we can no longer get away with tackling the symptoms of food poverty. Now is the time to properly protect the vulnerable from being failed by a society that should have resources to make sure no one goes hungry.”

Alec Spencer, Development Officer at West Cheshire Foodbank said:

“In West Cheshire, we’ve seen rising numbers of people forced to rely on our Foodbank. Since we opened in November 2012, we’ve provided 3 days of emergency food to over 5000 people, many of whom were children. In January alone, we provided food to over 500 people. I’d encourage everyone to get involved with End Hunger Fast and to show their support for local people in crisis. You can visit endhungerfast.co.uk to sign up and find out more”.

End Hunger Fast is calling for the Government to act immediately on welfare, wages and food markets and meet their duty of care to poor and vulnerable citizens.

- Welfare: half of all those going to food banks have been referred because of benefit delays and changes, including punitive sanctions. Regardless of changes to welfare policy and attempts to make savings, the welfare system must be there to stop people going hungry and must fulfil this mission.

- Living Wage: The majority of households in poverty and at risk from hunger are in work and 60% of them report cutting back on food to save money. Work should pay, the minimum wage and support for the Living Wage must be used to make sure of it.

- Food prices have gone up 30.5% in the last 5 years, way ahead of general inflation and way ahead of wages. At the same time the poorest among us have to pay 19% more for food in a poverty premium and more and more people are forced to buy cheap and unhealthy processed foods. Government should undertake a full review of British food markets to look at long term interventions to make them healthy, sustainable and affordable.

Derek's Story

"I have changed our benefits from JSA to ESA and because it means I am not actually looking for work they have cut my benefits from £57 per week to £11.20 per week. How are you supposed to live on this amount of money?"

Our thanks to Derek for sharing this whilst collecting an emergency food parcel at one of our Foodbank Centres.

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.

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MPs Debate Rising Food Bank Use

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

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.’

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.’