Food banks in Cambridgeshire brace themselves for winter demand
A food bank adviser says she and volunteers are 'battling away' to help
A Cambridgeshire food bank adviser says she and volunteers across the county will keep battling to help people cope with their cost of living after summer.
In the year to March, the Trussell Trust gave out nearly three million emergency food parcels to those in need.
Michelle Parkes, of Citizens Advice, works with the Trust's food banks in Cambridgeshire:
“I think people are panicking because they’ve seen how it went last year and how the sharp rises in gas and electricity were astronomical; people couldn’t budget for that,” she said.
“People are scared of not having any heat.
“I’ve known people not to have any heat in the whole house; they’re using blankets and hot water bottles, they don’t switch their boilers on and they are the trends we’ll see coming through the door.”
Almost a fifth of households in UK ate less or skipped meals
Figures from the Office for National Statistics found more than half of adults have reported a rise in their cost of living compared to the month before.
A YouGov survey by food poverty charity the Food Foundation showed that in June 2023, 17.0% of households in the UK were ‘food insecure’.
This means households either ate less or went a day without eating because they couldn’t access or afford food.
There’s also a current investigation by the Commons Work and Pensions Committee into whether cost of living payments are being received by people most in need.
"We're working as a team to help people"
“We are battling away to try and help people,” Ms Parkes added.
“We’re working as a team so that people will hopefully not be in need, so they’ll have heating, food, things they need to get through the winter.
“There is help in the foodbanks, such as in Ely, Wisbech, Godmanchester and St Neots. Or you can phone our core telephone number online – rural citizens advice.
“There is advice and help out there, you just need to ask; please don’t be ashamed to ask because that’s what we’re here for.”