Essex foodbank: People are going without hygiene products to afford food
The foodbank says it's expecting a busy Christmas
People in Essex are going without hygiene products so they can afford food, according to a local foodbank.
Braintree foodbank give out products including deodorant and body wash in their food bank parcels for those in need, in a bid to combat hygiene poverty.
Lee Ranson manages the foodbank: "We do provide complimentary toiletries, including washing detergent and other other key items.
"Unfortunately, if you have very little money, you're going to choose to survive rather than choose to keep yourself clean and tidy, so it's important that we provide those items to give clients dignity and help them be able to lead normal lives."
Lee told us they're on track for their busiest year yet: "We are seeing a large increase in the number of clients coming to us. From August to September, we've had a 77% increase in the number of parcels we're providing to clients.
"Unfortunately, we feel that's only going to increase as we get into the colder months and people start putting their heating on...
"We like to stay positive and hopefully, in the colder months we'll see a limited amount of clients, but unfortunately looking at it realistically, we're probably going to have our busiest year on record.
"Previously our busiest year was during the pandemic, so I think that shows how much people are struggling at the moment."
The foodbank is also grappling with a 'cost of giving' issue - members of the public who'd usually donate to foodbanks and charities are no longer able to as they can't spare the cash: "Donations are down on the whole, certainly more down than over the last few years.
"Currently we're in our Harvest Festival collection period, so we're getting lots of good donations come in, but, in general, donations are down, simply because people just don't have as much money to put as many tins in the supermarket collections as they usually would...
"Luckily we do have some reserve funds that we are able to dip into."