Developing food banks in the face of extreme poverty in England

With its Norman cathedral and churchyard, St Dunstan’s Anglican Church stands out from the rest of the area – entire streets are lined with social housing. We are in Tower Hamlets, one of the most contrasting areas of London: to the south, in the new financial center of Canary Wharf, and to the west, on the city side, where billions of pounds are transacted every day.

But the East End, once called the docks, a place of ancestral migration, has one of the highest poverty rates in the UK: 39% of the population are considered poor, meaning those with an income below 60. % of the national average income, which was £2,560 (€2,950) a month in April.

This fall Friday is the day food bank, “Food Bank”, in St. Dunstan’s. The part of the church is completely packed with food, six volunteers are busy. “Three family baskets, two individual baskets with meat! », says Sarah Smith, the responsible employee of the bank. Register in hand, it lists the names of the beneficiaries: Aisha, Asma, Shifaa… All parades are in continuous flow.

Less than 8,500 euros per year

Most are British mothers of Bangladeshi origin, such as A A third of the population of Tower Hamlets. They confide that only their husbands are working and they have to take care of the children because it will be too expensive to take care of them, the state aid is valid only for 3 and 4 year old children. Therefore, there is a need to collect free baskets.

“Many who come look irritated, stressed. Tensions rise with the fear of not being able to pay your bills. “, says Gregory Allen, one of the volunteers, a young retiree who has worked for the City for a long time. Alison Jones, another regular at the site who is responsible for parent relations at nearby Marion-Richardson Elementary School, brought leftovers from the parent-teacher breakfast.

Almost 40% of children in his institution have the right Free school meals (free hot meals at school) because they live in households earning less than £7,400 (€8,500) a year. It is impossible to live decently in London with so few. Even in Tower Hamlets, where a two-bedroom apartment costs less than £2,000 (€2,300) a month.

Weakened by ten years of austerity

When Sarah Smith opened her “bank” in 2017, she first saw single men coming. Then came the families. There are now 560 names in its register. The needs are such that this gentle and patient woman, a neighbor herself, is worried about dwindling donations. “People have been generous during the Covid epidemic, but they are also experiencing a crisis. Sometimes you can’t give more than one or two meals. »