‘I felt ashamed’: More than half of London’s working families using food banks

More than half of working families surveyed in London have been forced to turn to a food bank because of the rising cost of living. 

A new survey of 2,001 working parents by food redistribution charity The Felix Project found that 56 per cent of parents in the capital have used a food bank in the past 12 months.

Of those, one in five said it was the first time they had used a support service.

The Felix Project, based in Deptford, rescues high quality surplus food that would otherwise go to waste, and delivers it to about 1,000 organisations across London.

In South London alone, the charity has delivered about 6.3million meals to 306 community organisations, supporting more than 80,500, in the past year.

One of the organisations to receive food is Howbury Friends, which has set up a food bank in Slade Green, Bexley. 

Dean, who asked not to give his full name, lives near the food bank, and works in the health sector delivering equipment to the homes of people who have recently come out of hospital.

He said: “My wages are low, and I rely on overtime to cover everything. But I have not been able to work, so nothing has been coming in.

“But bills don’t go down, your mortgage, your utility bills, and all that sort of stuff has to be covered, so it has been a bit of a struggle.”

Six weeks ago Dean had to take leave from his job after being injured and began to visit Howbury Friends for support.

He said: “I felt ashamed that I had to do it, and a bit embarrassed as well. But speaking to some of the others, it’s surprising how many people are in the same situation as you.

“I don’t know what I would have done without the relief here, because it really has helped.”

Dean is going back to work next week, but said the food bank had been a “lifeline” for him. 

Every Monday, Howbury Friends take a delivery of about 300kg of food from The Felix Project to support an average of 250 people a day, five-days-a-week. 

The service also offers a daily after school club, children’s football, job clubs and an HGV training course.

Melanie Hudson, who runs the service, said: “It’s shocking, these are everyday people, most are working but their income just does not meet their needs and so they are forced to turn to a food bank.”

According to the Felix Project’s research, one in four families struggle to feed their children and about one in seven of those struggle on a daily basis.

In addition, 14 per cent of those surveyed said they had just £20 a week to spend on food after paying their bills, up from 11 per cent in 2023. 

Rachel Ledwith, head of community at The Felix Project, said: “It is appalling that more and more parents can only put food on their table because of a food bank and so many are being forced to skip meals, send their children to school hungry and cut back on other things to cover their essential food bills. 

“The Felix Project rescues as much food as it can, but this is not enough to satisfy demand.”

This comes as the charity launches its Empty Plate Emergency Appeal, calling on Londoners to donate £20, which provides 50 meals for families in need.

A Department of Work and Pensions spokesman said: “The mass dependence on food banks is unacceptable – that’s why we’ve extended the Household Support Fund to protect the most vulnerable households this winter.

“At the same time, we are developing an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty while we tackle inequality and make work pay.”

Pictured top: Dean, who started using the Howbury Friends foodbank after an injury left him out of work for six weeks (Picture: Felix Project)