More British turn to food banks as bills soar

UK: For many struggling families, older people and the homeless, Michelle Dornelly’s food hub in East London has been a lifeline. Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Britain, she has been collecting surplus groceries from supermarkets and distributing them to people who can’t afford to buy food.

Dornelly offers groceries and free hot meals every week to several dozen regulars in Hackney, an inner London borough with high rates of inequality: almost half of all children there are in poverty. Since the winter, at least 30 to 40 new people have been referred to her, she says.

The cost of food and fuel in the U.K. has risen sharply, with inflation reaching 9% in April — the highest in 40 years. The same month, millions of families saw their annual energy bills jump by 54%, amounting to an extra 700 Pounds (US$ 863) a year on average for each household. Another energy price hike is expected in October, as Russia’s war in Ukraine and rebounding demand after the pandemic push oil and natural gas prices higher.

All of our organisations are reaching out to us saying, ‘We need more food,’ more families are approaching us. The people we’re seeing have got even less to make ends meet,” said Rachel Ledwith, head of community engagement at the Felix Project, a charity that redistributes surplus groceries from the food industry to about 1,000 charities and schools across London. – THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD