An Oxfordshire food bank is predicting a 20 per cent rise in users by next year due to the cost-of-living crisis.

Abingdon food bank fed 5,000 people between April 2021 and March 2022. But having fed over 500 people in the last month alone, they predict they will have to feed at least 6,000 people over the next year.

The centre works by giving food parcels – boxes of long-life food such as tinned and dried items – to people who are finding it difficult to afford food. Most come to the food bank through referrals, either from doctors, schools or Citizens Advice.

Food donations are made by churches, the general public and corporates, and all go towards filling food parcels.

Occasionally people do turn up at the door unsure of what to do about their current situation, so the centre has certain policies around this.

Hilary Beale, Manager of Abingdon Food Bank, said: “The first time someone visits we will feed them. We have a list of what we can offer, so we endeavour to provide them with whatever food items they choose.

“The second time somebody comes to visit, we will refer them to an agency who can help them.”

Another consideration aside from the increasing number of people visiting the food bank, is the rising cost of food itself.

Hilary said that she compared the cost of putting together a food parcel last October with the cost of doing it this March, and noted that the increase was staggering.

She said: “Single people can be hit incredibly hard by rising food costs because they only have one source of income. Single parents are perhaps even worse.

“Another challenge at the moment is feeding asylum seekers and refugees. We are seeing a lot of additional referrals in this area so our numbers will likely increase even more.”

Covid also seems to have played a role in the increasing number of food bank visitors. Particularly for those who had babies during lockdowns.

Hilary said: “A lot of families had babies during the Covid lockdowns, which means another mouth to feed. When parents were trying to live on furlough pay, it made it extremely difficult to afford all the food they needed to feed their families.

“We even have one or two people who come to us and say that on occasion they have fed their children, but not themselves.”

There are plenty of ways that you can support Abingdon, or other food banks in Oxfordshire.

Either by donating food, money, volunteering or becoming a partner if you are a business.

 

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