Inequality snapshot: thoughts of a volunteer (1)  

Featured Image: Illustrator R Fresson’s satyrical snapshot of the real cost of McDonalds: below is an article written by an experienced Nottinghamshire Foodbank volunteer

After volunteering in Nottinghamshire foodbanks and wanting to find out more I was shocked to discover that there are more food banks than McDonalds branches in the UK!

Trussell Trust run the largest number of food banks in England and Wales and have just under 1,400 outlets mainly in churches or church halls. It’s estimated that there are another 1,172 independent food banks nationwide making around 3200 in total. Add ‘food distribution centres’ within every city, town and village then the number is closer to 5000.

McDonalds have 1270 branches and the brand employs 120,000 people.

In Nottinghamshire Trussell Trust have franchised Hope Church’s Mission to inspire and grow communities since 2011 setting up foodbanks across neighbourhoods in Nottinghamshire. (NB: an interesting history of Foodbanks here.)

From knowledge and experience I estimate that there are double that number in the County being run by other organisations. (See the Submission for United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights from NTU scholars Dr Juliet Wakefield and Dr Juliet Bowe).

Between the beginning of 2024 and the end of March 24 the Hope banks in Nottingham provided 2380 emergency food parcels: an average of 26 parcels each day and whilst parcels vary depending on the size of the household each parcel should provide enough food for three days. (Below Hope Church Newsletter, April 2024).

It is no wonder (in my view) that the Conservative party turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to what food banks do because essentially the food banks mask the real economically deprived state of a lot of communities which they, the Tories have failed to address and deal with over a decade and a half in power.

The recent Child Of The North report about child poverty in the north of England suggested there were 1.05 million children living in the north of the UK in poverty. Nationally the figure was put at 4.3 million.

The report said that research revealed that around one third of the increase in infant mortality in the UK between 2014 -2017 can be attributed to rising child poverty. 

Child Of The North also quoted Children’s Society’s data that there has been a 107% increase in children receiving emergency food in 2020 and suggested that 3 in 10 children are living in poverty which clearly has an impact on their health as well as their education and ability to learn. 

It should be remembered that not only food is given out by food banks: as a volunteer I see we also give out bathroom and kitchen cleaning products, donated clothes, shoes, bed linen and kitchen equipment (bearing in mind that a lot of people that use a food bank will be homeless or close to homeless in the sense of no permanent roof over their head).

But it just doesn’t stop there, every person attending food bank with a voucher is asked a series of questions to establish their need, some people will only have a kettle to cook with and consequently the food parcel they receive must reflect that in the same way that there will be people who have a specific diet for medical, religious or dietary reasons. 

It shouldn’t be forgotten that providing the food is only half the battle.

Many people don’t have money for bus fares don’t go in a vehicle and walk everywhere. A family of four (two adults and two children) receive approximately five carrier bags of food and products. These must be taken home some people will travel many miles to collect food from the food bank so have extra journeys to and from the banks with the food they have been given.

What is noticeable in recent months is that certain products we have received regularly from the public at large supermarkets and other organisations who donate to food banks are drying up. Although local Coops such as Clifton have pledged Hope Foodbanks as their Good Cause for 2023-2024, cost of living increases and inflation mean people have less cash to donate and also higher value products like oil and baby milk are becoming scarce.

Sadly it is difficult to conclude otherwise: the food banks are with us for the foreseeable future and their numbers will probably increase….!

See the New Statesman article: ending the need for Foodbanks