Harrogate mother's plea for action as she goes without food and heating to feed her child

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Despite working full-time, she says high housing and utility costs are draining her income and leaving her with a heartbreaking choice - whether to feed herself or her daughter.

The woman, who spoke to the Harrogate Advertiser, but wished not to give her identity, said: “Even though I work, I am really struggling financially and it is really taking its toll.

“I had to leave my previous residence and move into rented accommodation, but after all my bills and utilities come out, I am left with very little money in my account, even for essentials like food.

“There are too many costs to keep up with so I often have to prioritise what I spend on - and of course my daughter comes first. I survive on one meal a day, sometimes less, to keep the costs down and enable me to feed my child.”

Left mentally and physically drained, she is calling for more support for people in similar positions - especially as we head into a second lockdown and many household incomes are set to be affected.

Last week, the Harrogate Advertiser revealed how, following the Government’s decision not to extend free school meals throughout the holidays, many families have been left wondering how they will be able to put food on the table and that demand for help from local charities and foodbanks has increased.

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Groups like Resurrected Bites are relied upon to provide food packages for residents across the district needing crucial support to feed themselves and their families. The woman who spoke to us this week admits that life is really tough.

“I still get up every day and work as hard as I can, helping other people as much as possible,” she said. “But, I feel so drained and exhausted after work and I can’t even go home to a hot meal. It is destroying me.

“If my daughter isn’t home I don’t even put the heating on so I can limit the cost. I am hungry and I am freezing, I don’t know what to do.”

As the physical hunger and fatigue take their toll, her mental health is also being impacted - a cycle which she says is impossible to break without extra help and access to support services.

She is calling for more people to share their stories in a bid to break down the barriers and show people just how bad things have become in the hope it will inspire change.

“Right now, just getting out of bed is a struggle,” she said. “It is heartbreaking. I don’t feel like doing anything - not that I can afford to anyway - because I have no energy and I’m embarrassed about seeing anyone I know.”

With the second lockdown coming into force and many businesses being made to close, she fears the situation is only going to get worse and worries people will not open up about the struggles they are facing, leaving more people across the district starving and unable to access help.

It comes after the Trussell Trust, which runs the Harrogate District Foodbank, said last week that foodbanks across the country are set to experience record levels of demand this winter if the Government does not step in.

It said the Covid-19 pandemic has taken its toll on many people across the country and its latest projections have forecast a 61% rise in need for foodbanks over the winter compared to the same period last year.

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The latest figures would leave foodbanks in the Trussell Trust network, including the one in Harrogate, faced with the huge task of giving out six food parcels every minute over the winter.

“I have tried to open up about the struggles I am facing and have been laughed at, even by people I thought cared about me,” said the Harrogate mother. “This is a real issue that many people are going through and it is impacting on children as well as adults. People need to realise how difficult things have got and end the stigma - we need kindess, compassion and understanding.

“The time for change has come and I hope something is done to help more people.”