Choosing between heating or eating: in the United Kingdom, this dilemma affects more and more people. Inflation has reached 11% this month and energy bills are skyrocketing. In London, fewer and fewer people are spared by the crisis.
From our correspondent in London,
Brightly colored stained glass windows brighten up this rainy day. It’s cold in this church in Hackney, north London. Volunteers wrapped in their coats serve bags full of food.
” Pasta, rice, fruit juice, canned vegetables, cookies, sugar… “, enumerates Clive. He has worked for the food bank for seven years. He sees more and more new faces crossing the threshold of the place of worship.
This is the case of Simon, a 28-year-old actor. ” It’s my first time in a food bank, I’ve only been eating soup and bread for three weeks, so I’m a little hungry. I don’t turn on the heating, I use electricity as little as possible “, he says.
“We can’t keep growing”
His face hidden behind his black cap and mask reveal tired green eyes. Since he caught the coronavirus, he can no longer apply for new jobs. Cases of the long Covid that we often see, explains Pat, gray curls falling on his smiling face.
She has been running the food bank for 10 years. Demand has never been higher, even during the pandemic. ” It is expected to last at least another 2 years. Something has to change, because more and more people need our help. We can’t keep growing fears Pat
One thing worries her even more, the profile of her new clients: families whose parents work, so she has to adapt the schedules. ” Nurses, teachers… We had to set up a new slot, Friday evening, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., which allows people who work to come to our food bank. Until now, we had never needed to open in the evening. »
From a cost of living crisis to a public health crisis?
Pat waves to an older lady who has just entered the church with her shopping cart. She doesn’t really want to talk about her situation like most people here. ” We no longer use the light and not the heating, so we are cold. Since this morning, I have a little gas, at least we can drink something warm “explains the woman.
The association that manages these distribution points in the country has published its latest figures. In 6 months, 320,000 new people visited a food bank. The relationship with food is changing, warns Susan Jebb of the British organization Food Foundation,
Our latest figures show that a third of respondents tell us that in the past month they have skipped a meal or eaten a much smaller meal than usual because they were worried about food prices. And that’s a dramatic increase from just 6 months ago.
She fears that this cost of living crisis will turn into a public health crisis.