Why is Foodbank Use in Lincoln Reducing?
By Simon Hawking.
Foodbank Use in Lincoln has reduced by 20% compared to last year. We ask the important question: why?
Andrea turns the key and gives the door a shove with her shoulder. Her two daughters run under her arm, darting into the house and out of sight while she fumbles for the light switch. As she clicks it, she frowns curiously as nothing happens.
“Why is it dark, Mummy?” asks her youngest from the other side of the lounge.
She tries the light switch a few more times but still nothing, so she digs her phone out of her pocket and swipes to turn her phone torch on. As she steps carefully through her door, she hears her eldest gasp.
“The kitchen floor is soaking wet!”
Andrea follows the sound and shines her torch towards the kitchen laminate. There is a large puddle extending from the base of her fridge freezer. She quickly swings open the door, beads of sweat forming at her temples when the fridge light doesn’t come on either. She realises that power is off. She tries the freezer door below, to find that everything has defrosted.
“That stinks!” complains her youngest. Andrea holds her nose and instantly regrets staying at her mum’s house for the weekend so the kids can see their grandma (and get some proper meals). All of the meals she’d frozen for the week ahead are wasted.
“Turn the light on, I can’t see anything!”
“What’s going on Mummy?”
Andrea still wipes her face before turning to her daughters.
“Come on!” she says with as much cheer as she can muster. “Let’s pop to the corner and get some leccy!”
When she returns home, she crawls on her knees into the cupboard under the stairs and turns the electric meter back on. The £10 she entered immediately becomes £8 as the emergency credit is repaid. As she backs out, she breathes slowly and thinks about how quickly she can get to the boiler to turn the heating off.
Before she makes it, she hears her eldest call out, “What’s for dinner?”
Andrea’s story is an account of a real situation that someone in Lincoln faced only recently. With the last of her money spent on topping up her electricity, and all the food in the freezer ruined, she turned to Lincoln Foodbank for help.
“I ran out of electric, and lost all food in the freezer while away,” she explains to the volunteer while she collects her parcel. “This means I can eat and provide for my children!”
Andrea is not alone. In the past 12 months, a staggering 8,500 food parcels have been provided in the City and surrounding villages by Lincoln Foodbank and Lincoln Community Larder. That equates to 76,500 meals. One in three of these meals is for a child.
Why is food bank use so high?
The reasons people give vary, but as you might guess, this year’s top cause is the rising cost of essentials. Mental and physical health conditions, unexpected expenses, debt and insecure housing complete the top 5.
“I don’t think anyone finds it acceptable that we still need food banks in the UK,” says Simon Hawking, CEO of Acts Trust, who run Lincoln Foodbank. “Our ambition is actually to bring an end to the need for food banks.”
This ambition is shared with many local organisations who meet together as the Greater Lincolnshire Food Partnership. It’s a tough ambition, as nationally, food bank use is very high. With so many factors affecting people’s circumstances, there’s no easy solution to make it a reality.
Food bank use in Lincoln is coming down
However, there is hope. Lincoln is currently ahead of the curve and the number of people using the City’s two main food banks; Lincoln Foodbank and Lincoln Community Larder has actually reduced by 20% compared to the same time last year.
“When someone is without options and facing hunger, it is imperative that the food banks are there to support them. We know that this support helps in an emergency – but it’s only temporary.” suggests Simon. “If we are serious about ending food poverty, then we have to look beyond food as the only solution.”
Why is food bank use reducing in Lincoln?
The current reduction in food bank use in Lincoln is partly down to a combination of initiatives that have been launched as a part of an ongoing strategy to go beyond food. These include:
- Partnering with Citizen’s Advice to deliver financial advice directly in Lincoln Foodbank’s collection points, through funding from Trussell Trust
- Recommending Lincoln Community Grocery to people as an alternative to a food bank with the offer of a free first shop, in Partnership with The Message Trust and funded by the City of Lincoln Council’s Household Support Fund.
- Encouraging churches who host food bank collection points to run cafes where people can find friendship and community
- Funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, working directly with organisations who refer people to food banks to encourage them to do a Need Assessment rather than simply writing a food bank referral. This connects people with sustainable support which gets to the root of the challenges people face.
Since starting some of these initiatives, over 1,000 people have started using Lincoln Community Grocery instead of relying on emergency food parcels. 242 people have undertaken a Need Assessment and have discovered what other support is available beyond food, and between April and September 2024, 470 people connected with Citizens Advice in the food banks for support, with a cumulative expected increase in their household of £228,000!
Everyone can help to end the need for food banks
Ending food poverty in our City for people like Andrea is an ambitious target, but something that each of us can play our part in achieving. You might be able to give time to befriend someone in one of the community cafes. You could help at one of our Christmas Collections for food, or you could make a donation to Acts Trust to help us keep this poverty-busting initiatives going!
To make a donation this Christmas time, simply visit actstrust.org.uk/donate