A jam-packed calendar of festive parties and extravagant Christmas shopping leaves most people with a dwindling bank balance by the end of December. However due to the recent roll out of Universal Credit, inflation, benefit cuts and the increasing cost of living in the UK, an alarming number of people have found themselves facing food poverty and in desperate need of emergency food supplies. Along with rising food prices, the cold weather means that vulnerable people often have to choose between heating their homes or feeding their families.
This year the Trussell Trust, who run a network of more than 400 food banks across the UK, have distributed record numbers of emergency food parcels to people living in crisis and those figures are expected to rise over the coming weeks. In order to meet demand, food banks up and down the country depend on everyday people (like us!) to pitch in and help them to offer support to people who need it most.
What can we do to help?
- Volunteering
Many food banks are staffed by volunteers, and they always welcome a helping hand. Volunteering won’t cost you any money, it could improve your well being and make you feel really proud of yourself. It provides an opportunity to give back to your community, make new friends and gain new skills. There are a vast range of jobs available, including: organising the donations, handling administrative tasks, welcoming people into the food bank sessions, transporting donations to the warehouse, organising fundraising, volunteer recruitment and training, and managing finances.
- Organise a donation station at your workplace/ school/ college
An easy way to collect donations for your local food bank would be to set up a ‘donation station’ at work, school or college. It’s helpful if you can give your colleagues or classmates an idea of the type of donations that can be accepted by food bank. Generally speaking, tinned or dried foods are always included in emergency food parcels, and most food banks try to provide toiletries, hygiene and baby products to families. Fresh food and alcohol are not usually accepted. If in doubt, why not contact your local food bank directly and discuss their needs? More information on food bank parcels is available here.
- Fundraising
Although food banks always welcome food donations, it can often be a challenge for them to raise sufficient funds for practical items such as phone bills and electricity bills. You could organise a fundraising event such as a cake sale, sponsored sports event or another challenge. The more people that you get involved, the better! It’s up to you how you do it, but it’s guaranteed that any funds raised will positively impact the lives of local people in crisis.
- Think outside the box for Christmas presents
Instead of letting your family splurge their money on presents that don’t interest you, how about suggesting that they make a donation to the food bank in your name? They could donate money, or they could donate a shopping bag of food to the food bank, rather than wasting money on another pair of novelty socks. Of if somebody gifts you yet another generic body wash and bath set that you’re not keen on, the food bank would be able to distribute it to a family in need.