Food bank facing empty shelves amid unprecedented demand

In the face of a cost of living and energy crisis, many across Bristol are tackling food inequality through community organisation.

One such area is Kingswood, where the local food bank is experiencing unprecedented levels of demand.

On a recent visit to the food bank run by InHope as part of The Trussell Trust, there were queues up Waters Road before opening.

Inside, volunteers have set up desks, a clipboard at each, ready to find out what the next visitor needs. There are stacks of tins organised in green boxes but they’ll be empty by closing, the store cupboard is floor to ceiling but this too is quick to empty.

Mary, a volunteer, carries the open sign up the road and there’s one moment of calm before the first client is greeted at the door.

One woman is visiting the food bank for the second time, which she says is due to rising costs. She’s here for not just herself, but her mother, sister and daughter too.

“There’s gas, electric and everything else. Now the bills are getting so high with my granddaughter, it’s too much,” she says.

She dabs her eyes as she tells Bristol24/7: “I was so overwhelmed the first time [at the food bank], I could not believe the help and how people were. It changed my faith in people. I get quite choked, I can’t put into words how I feel. I don’t know what I’d do if this weren’t here, I really don’t. I’d be so lost.”

Peter Shears, food bank volunteer, rests at the end of a busy shift on Friday

The food bank at the Bourne Christian centre just off Two Mile Hill is operated by a team of 11 volunteers and open two days a week.

Leader volunteer Peter Shears is swept off his feet, he runs back and forth from desk to food cupboard to fill baskets with essentials for clients.

Peter has been documenting the growing number of referrals. “For the first time last Friday, we had to take ourselves off the system because we had too many referrals. We couldn’t take anymore,” he says.

The demand for the food bank has never been so high. It usually operates on a voucher system, with clients using three vouchers in six months, and is meant for crisis situations. At the moment, many clients need food weekly and the food bank can’t keep up. This has led to clients being downgraded to monthly vouchers and redirected to other charities and organisations for food.

On the current situation, Peter explains that they have seen fewer donations because people can’t afford it. More than 50 per cent of food bank clients in Kingswood are now single people and there are steadily rising numbers of clients who are in work while receiving benefits to supplement earnings.

The top three reasons for referrals are due to benefit changes, benefit delays and low income.

The category ‘no recourse to public funds’ is the most common, as people have exhausted their options for benefit support.

Peter continues: “From my observation, there’s also been an increase in the number of single parent families where the parent is a chap.

“The biggest thing for single people isn’t the food, it’s to come and have a chat with someone. How important that is for their mental wellbeing.”

More than half of the referrals last week were first time clients. Peter expects this will continue into winter and that there will be an increase in the number of pensioners coming into the food bank over the winter as their pension may not cover heating and food.

The food people get from the food bank isn’t meant to feed them for the whole week, Peter shares. In theory what they give is supposed to be three days worth, so it’s supplemented.

Kingswood Food Bank is experiencing unprecedented levels of demand

There is also an issue for people who can’t get to the food bank. Social workers, charity workers, friends and family can come to collect but for some that’s not an option.

“We are in desperate need of delivery drivers, especially on Tuesdays,” says Peter.

A crucial service provided by the food bank is run by Cris, the Citizens Advice volunteer.

Cris, who is funded by the food bank, is available to talk about benefits and housing advice to anyone visiting the venue. She offers support with contacting local authorities, arranging accommodation and, critically, to get referrals for food bank vouchers.

She has noticed there has been more older people needing to use the food bank since the start of the year.

She’s also conscious that, for some people, getting a voucher is an inaccessible process, adding: “We’re on the border between South Gloucester and Bristol. When people come to see us, we send them to the One Stop Shop in Kingswood, but it’s South Glos. I’ve had clients say they can’t get a voucher there because they’re [based in] Bristol. That is a barrier. But people can call the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and get a voucher.”

The One Stop Shop is the council drop in centre where you can talk through issues and they will support you.

Cris says the service is always open when Kingswood food bank is open and the CAB phone line.

Due to the limit on vouchers, people are turning to other organisations for support.

One of these organisations is Ignite Life, whose newly-opened food bank is based in Staple Hill. The project started by supporting vulnerable young people and then began delivering food parcels to families in food poverty throughout the pandemic. They have delivered 90,000 meals and given £2,000 in food vouchers so far.

Bethanie Cundy, CEO at Ignite Life, says: “We operate on a ’no referral needed’ basis, where people can come to our shop, meet a volunteer and talk through with them the support they need.”

Fresh vegetables donated by a local community organisation

The Ignite Life food bank also acts as a hub for community support with school uniform grants, mental health services and there is a new weekly drop in workshop at the Staple Hill children’s centre to help with the cost of living crisis.

There are many other resources open to the local community, including the Kingswood Kitchen, which supplies hot meals on a pay-as-you-can basis. JUICE Community Project in Cadbury Heath offers a warm room, lots of activities and a community larder to browse.

Caitlin Quinn is reporting on the Kingswood community as part of Bristol24/7’s community reporter scheme, a project which aims to tell stories from areas of Bristol traditionally under-served by the mainstream media

All photos: Caitlin Quinn

Read next:

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• Hope that community-led housing could transform derelict sites
• Communal ‘warm places’ to be set up across Bristol amid cost of living crisis

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