By Joe McCann
A NEWTOWNARDS foodbank has warned ahead of the winter months that food insecurity in the area is at an all time high.
The Trussell Trust foodbank issued the warning as it responded to a major UK-wide survey by the anti-poverty foodbank which runs 1,400 foodbanks across the country.
The Trust’s report shows that 21% of all households in Northern Ireland are food insecure, up from 16% in 2022 and significantly higher than the UK average.
But in a significant warning, a local foodbank official has warned that it is no longer enough just to be giving out donations of food to people who are struggling.
The Newtownards Foodbank, based on the Crawfordsburn Road, said need remains very high and there were concerns about people being able to make ends meet even with food donations ahead of the busy winter.
Foodbank official Lisa McAllister said the usual dropping off in demand over the summer hadn’t materialised and demand had stayed high. She said: “Usually it would maybe die off a wee bit, but it ramps up as soon as it starts getting cold. You notice that people, they’re needing to put gas onto their meters or they’re having to put extra electricity on because of the darker nights coming in.
“That means that that’s taken away from their weekly living costs and their ability to buy food is affected. Especially at this time of year with the likes of school uniforms, it’s more tight for people.”
Lisa highlighted that since April the foodbank has provided over 600 parcels, including many to families with children, and said that many who use their services are in full time employment and struggling to make ends meet.
“Since April we have provided 622 parcels to families in Newtownards, of those 622 families, 256 of them have children. Each package is enough to feed a family for three days.”
She added: “A lot of people that are referred to us, they’re from a working household. It’s not the cliche that it’s just people on benefits using foodbanks, it’s people who are in work and are working.
“People are finding it really, really hard to make ends meet in their day-to-day living. Here, as in all Trussell foodbanks, we’re here to give food support, but it’s not enough.” The foodbank also works with other organisations including Community Advice Ards and North Down and offers life skills courses to help those struggling to cope.
Lisa said: “What we like to try and do here is whenever a client comes through the doors, we try to give them the next step. We don’t like to give them food and then just send them on their way.
“On Tuesday we have Community Advice Ards and North Down in here to offer advice and we try and include other advisers who can offer a wraparound service. We also run life skills courses offering budgeting help, cooking lessons and mental health support. We also run money coaching courses, and if we have the capability, we help with gas or electric top-ups.”
She gave the example of a working mother in care who struggles in months with five-week gaps between wages. “We do see a lot of people who will occasionally use our services and we have to remember that behind all of these statistics are real people with their own scenarios and situations.”
Lisa said she wants to see an effective anti-poverty strategy to eliminate the need for foodbanks. “We still firmly believe that nobody should need a foodbank, nobody should feel the need that they have to rely on them either and what we really want to see is an effective anti-poverty strategy coming in which will work towards making foodbanks a thing of the past.”
She added that the cost of living is also affecting the foodbank itself, which has seen a drop in donations. “Unfortunately with the effects of Covid and also the rise in the cost of living, our donations have reduced,” she said.
“We get support through the local churches, the schools especially at harvest time, and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who makes either a food or monetary donation. But the demand is growing, especially coming into the winter and we are concerned if the donations keep dropping.”
Anyone who wants to make a food donation can do so by visiting the foyer of House Church, 18C Crawfordsburn Road, Newtownards or by making a monetary donation to newtownards.foodbank.org.uk.
