You may not know it, but in the heart of Bitterne Park is a food bank, where every week volunteers give out food parcels to those in crisis. And organisers, who always welcome donations from local people, say need for the service is at least 50% up since last year.
Pictured: A volunteer sorts donated tins of food at Bitterne Park Triangle Basics Bank
On Wednesdays, Christian charity City Mission turns the Old Chemist into a Basics Bank, and provides emergency food and clothing rations to people in crisis.
Staffed by volunteers like John, pictured right sorting fresh vegetables, it's one of five Basics Banks that pop up in different church locations on different days of the week across Southampton.
Donations
While some food is donated by shops, including Sainsbury’s and the local bakers, residents also drop off much-needed supplies on Wednesdays between 10am-3pm. These are distributed across the network of Basics Banks as required.
If you find yourself in difficulties, you can claim food to last you and your family up to five days, but only if you’ve been specifically referred by an agency such as social services, and have been given a voucher. These can be exchanged in any of the city food bank venues, for a mix of tinned, packet and boxed food as well as fresh produce when available.
Job centre sanctions
The Basics Bank only gives out three food parcels a year to a particular person: they’re keen to stress that their aim is not to constantly feed people and “create dependency”, but rather plug the gap in particular emergency situations.
Cheryl Ricketts - Basics Bank Co-ordinator
And the gap is growing: co-ordinator Cheryl Ricketts says city Basics Banks are finding more and more people desperate for help. She says invariably those needing food parcels have had their money stopped because they’ve been 'sanctioned' by their job centre.
'I’ve never heard so many grown men cry as I have in these last six months'
“If they don’t turn up on time, if they don’t turn up to their job club, if they don’t search for enough jobs, they’re just getting their money sanctioned, and they’ve got nothing: they’re coming in desperate,” she says. There were even press reports alleging the existence of targets and league tables for benefit sanctions last year.
Use the player below to hear Cheryl Ricketts talking about the increased need for food packages she’s seeing from people in crisis: “I’ve never heard so many grown men cry as I have in these last six months,” she says.
No player? Try this link Duration: 1:55
Rowenna Davis (right), who lives locally and is Labour’s Southampton Itchen candidate for Parliament in 2015, volunteers at the Old Chemist Basics Bank.
In the following audio clip, she gives an example of one of the people who’d recently used the food bank – a mother of four children, who’s a cleaner on a zero hours contract, and who’d had her benefits stopped.
No player? Try this link Duration: 0:42
She emphasises that it’s not just the jobless who are using food banks, but families with someone in work too.
Working people need food banks too
“One of the things that’s shocked me here most as a volunteer here, is that a high proportion of the people we’re seeing have some member of the family in work. So they’re doing their best to put in their time, but if you’re on poverty pay and a zero hour contract, and you’ve got a family and the cost of living is rising, you cannot make ends meet. And you go hungry, even though you’re working.”
In the final clip, Rowenna Davis explains the two ways that local people can help, either through contributing food, or perhaps becoming a referral agency through their organisation. She then talks about what it’s like to volunteer at the Bitterne Park Triangle Basics Bank.
No player? Try this link Duration: 1:01
If you wish to contribute, the Basics Bank is particularly in need of:
- Cooking sauces
- Kidney beans & similar to put in stews and casseroles
- Tinned peas
- Baked beans
- Coffee
- Tinned potatoes (for when fresh donations aren’t available)
- Clothing
In Bitterne Park Triangle it's open at The Old Chemist on Wednesdays from 10am - 3pm.
Links
Southampton City Mission food banks
Sanctions against benefits claimants soar – Guardian 6/11/13