Fuel poverty set to increase pressure on foodbanks across South Yorkshire
It's predicted that up to 2.5 million households with children in the UK could end up in fuel poverty from next month
There's concern that more people living across South Yorkshire will be 'dragged' into fuel poverty down the line.
With the new energy price cap set to come into force from April, it's thought up to two in five family homes across the UK could be impacted.
Alison Wise from the S6 Foodbank in Sheffield tells us they're not expecting any respite:
"Typically, in March our numbers normally start to decrease, as people come through the winter months and the pressure that period brings with it.
"However, now we know that the energy price cap is being removed, we're worried about how this will affect a lot of people.
"We just seem to be bouncing from one mini-crisis to another when you think about the disruption caused by both Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Our concern now is that this will pull people down financially and lead to more families needing to use their local foodbank in order to get by."
However, Alison says plans are in place to cope with any extra pressure in the coming months:
"The one good thing that's come out of the past couple of years is that more and more people and businesses are aware of the issues that are going on in our city.
"This has resulted in more people stepping up to help, which is enabling us to deal with the cost-of-living crisis more effectively in terms of the service we can offer.
"We're very grateful for everybody who continues to support the S6 Foodbank here in Sheffield."