Huntingdon food service reassures families over foodbank stigma
The foodbank is running for a second Christmas
The co-founder of a Cambridgeshire foodbank hopes people struggling with the cost of living will be reassured if they feel embarrassed to ask for help.
Huntingdon Emergency Foodbank is part of the wider Ansary Foundation - founded by Iqbal Ansary - which has helped more than 15,000 families in poverty in the UK and Bangladesh.
In the last two years the service - which runs from Huntingdon High Street - has been helping around 15 families a week in the local area and is in its second year of providing Christmas hampers to the local community.
Zara Dolan-Ansary helps run Huntingdon Emergency Foodbank:
"There's no need to feel embarrassed; people need help for all different reasons and we want to help you, and if we can help with the embarrassment some people feel, we will," she said.
"Even people who are working full-time, both parents, they're still struggling to feed their families and it would be nice to provide some relief to those who're struggling at this time."
The foodbank - which runs seven days a week - provides food parcels for up to three days, as well as running an emergency service.
Foodbank can 'relieve stress'
Nationally, the Trussell Trust reported that 1.4 million emergency food parcels were distributed to people in need between April 1 and September 30 this year, 69% higher than the same period five years ago.
"We all come together and have a lovely time, so the fact people are still struggling at that time of year is raw to us, and if we can help in any way to make that time easier, we'd want to do that," Zara added.
"The worry of not being able to feed your kids or yourself is an overwhelming feeling, so the fact they know they can get some foodbank help will hopefully relieve that side of the stress."
In its 2024 General Election winning manifesto, Labour said it is" committed to reviewing Universal Credit so that it makes work pay and tackles poverty. We want to end mass dependence on emergency food parcels, which is a moral scar on our society".