An Election coming might be a time to rethink foodbanks. Many people have found their stride working or volunteering in foodbanks over the last few years. It’s a boom industry. In turn, (and we’re delighted to have played our part training Trussell Trust volunteers as well as visitors to foodbanks), people have got so much more than just food. Communities and individuals have developed new skills, found jobs, made connections, got and given help and created new more resilient communities.
You’ll no doubt be aware of foodbanks’ meteoric rise to infamy for all the wrong reasons. On our high streets, in under-used ecclesiastical buildings and community centres also used for Zumba and Pilates, the Trussell Trust alone has now distributed 3.1 million food vouchers with 3628 of those being in Norwich during 2023. 17% of families are food insecure and 4.7 million people are in food poverty.
However, the Trussell Trust in particular wants to put themselves out of ‘business’ and at the time of potentially massive political upheaval, it is, well, a timely conversation.
Is ending the need for foodbanks possible and is it even desirable?
What would our communities look like without foodbanks?
What might we lose?
I am reminded of a conversation with a friend. She volunteered on the phone during Covid19, speaking to people who were isolated. At this time, going to a foodbank was not an option and many people’s situations deteriorated. She told me of one older woman she spoke to, with almost no training, but who, she quickly became aware, needed mental health support. My friend, untrained, but full of compassion and common sense, stayed in touch with her, whilst the rusty cogs of the state kicked into action. Not without trying to pass the buck back to my friend and asking her to make the introduction, such was the woman’s situation that she didn’t want to pick up the phone to the authorities, help was finally sourced. It could have gone horribly wrong and from what my friend says about what she did, she did a lot right, including asking some great questions at the right time and recognising when the time for questions was done and the woman needed help. She was lonely.
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So whilst foodbanks have become a part of the landscape, what my conversation with my friend reminded me of, and I’m old enough to remember this, is the gaps they fill in the services we’ve lost. The neighbourhood housing offices, the SureStart centres, youth clubs and community venues – with food as the hook, foodbanks are now in this space with poverty driving demand. What many don’t see, is that as well as Your Own Place supporting people with the most obvious and presenting need of financial inclusion support, you’ll also find someone from Shelter, the British Red Cross, Citizens Advice, AgeUK as well as the friendly face of a volunteer with at least a cup of tea (possibly a cheese straw), a crêche, a warm space, possibly a WiFi connection – all at a foodbank.
1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England, at least 309,000 people are homeless, Citizens Advice are seeing record numbers of people in debt and 1 in 4 older people suffer with isolation. If we lose foodbanks we lose spaces that have become a rarity in our communities – a place to come together, meet our neighbours, build communities, learn about available help from our peers, get warm, use the WiFi and more. Add in your local authority or association housing officer and some wellbeing help, and you’ve got nearly the whole complement of a community.
So maybe their meteoric rise isn’t all bad, or at least, we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater after whatever happens on July 4th. We should aim to eradicate the demand whilst recognising that they present us with a model to build on and invest in. For the volunteers, the people that work there, local employers and services, local authorities, housing associations, you, me and those that visit them, they are an opportunity to come together and connect. We might develop new skills, be part of creating or finding jobs, make new connections with our neighbours, proactively get as well as give help as equals and play a role in new more resilient communities.