The tide needs to turn quickly before more people are pulled into poverty, and that’s why the next government needs to prioritise urgently reforming the social security system so it provides better protection from having to go without the essentials.
In the longer term, we need to be working towards an essentials guarantee in universal credit, ensuring that universal credit at least covers the costs of essentials. That is the best shot we have as a nation at ensuring that people on the lowest incomes have a chance of coping with the core costs of life.
Reforming social security so universal credit goes further to cover the cost of essentials would mean people would have the dignity of being able to purchase their own food. They would be able to afford the bus to a medical appointment, and a school uniform that fits their kid.
And they would no longer be burdened with the relentless stress of an unexpected bill plunging them deeper into debt. It would also mean that we would likely see a reduction in the number of people we are supporting because if people can afford food, they won’t need to be referred to a food bank, and they can move towards the financial security that they deserve.
No one wants to visit a food bank but for many people it is their only option. If you are in a job that doesn’t pay enough, or have caring responsibilities that prevent you from working, or you don’t have family or friends who can support you, food banks like mine are the last resort.
We, and food banks across the country, welcomed the uprating of benefits in the last fiscal statement but this was only a temporary reprieve from the pain. The uplift didn’t come in immediately and, in the time that it took to implement, inflation continued to rise. That meant that even with an increase in the rate of universal credit, by the time it came in prices had already skyrocketed.
The people I meet at the food bank aren’t being given the opportunity to lift themselves out of the situation they’ve found themselves in. Every person in our society has the right to a basic standard of living. We are all part of society: children, pensioners, people with disabilities that prohibit them from working. All are as much a part of society as a working age person with a well-paid job.
Every single penny in the pockets of the people I meet is accounted for long before it even comes into their bank account, and that is why our team at Southend Foodbank are there. We provide emergency food, we provide advice to help people access the financial support they’re eligible for, we provide so much all in one place so that people know they’ve got somewhere they can turn to and trust. However, charitable food aid is not the answer in the long term – the change needed to end the need for food banks has to come from the government.
We need our next government, and the opposition, to take urgent action to turn back this tide. Reform universal credit so it gives better protection from going without the essentials. Improve support for disabled people and speed up access to disability benefits. Strengthen workers’ rights so a job really means someone doesn’t need a food bank. Build more social homes so people don’t end up at a food bank because their rent is unaffordable or they’ve been made homeless. We need MPs to shout loudly from back benches about the changes needed to better support their constituents.
If they don’t prioritise addressing poverty and commit to long-term solutions rather than short-term sticking plasters, my fear is that food banks will begin to be seen as the new normal. And there is nothing normal about people not being able to afford something as essential as food.
The generational trauma I have witnessed of seeing a grandma, a mum and her daughter from the same family, sitting in a food bank together, waiting for food they didn’t get to choose for themselves to be given to them, is horrifying.
Our next government needs to give us hope. We know what needs to change but we need the decision makers to take action. And only when that happens will I be able to close the door of our food bank for good.
Cass Francis is communications and campaigns coordinator at Southend Foodbank.
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