Foodbank warning

Wetherby and District Foodbank is seeing an increase in people needing support due to rising food prices.

It was announced last week that inflation has risen to a 30-year high and the group, which serves Wetherby, Collingham, Boston Spa, Tadcaster and surrounding villages, warns this will have a greater impact on families.

“At Wetherby & District Foodbank we have seen a steady rise in the demand for our support in the community, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic,” said spokesman Bryony Hudson.

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“Sadly, the challenges facing our community are only set to increase in 2022 with the cost of living rising above and beyond anything anyone could have predicted.

“In 2021 low income was the cause of 72 per cent of peoples’ crisis at our foodbank.

“In these freezing winter months, there are so many families choosing between keeping cold or hunger at bay.

“Just last week our volunteers delivered a food parcel to someone on a fixed income who had no means to afford food after paying their energy bill.

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“This is a recurring pattern we see every year, with some experiencing the same crisis and coming to us every winter.

“This will only get worse in April once the energy price cap is set to rise by more than 40 per cent.”

Bryony added: ”If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that nobody is immune from a crisis and everyone could find themselves in need of the support of their local community and foodbank.”

Wetherby and District Foodbank was set up in 2014, in a project led through Wetherby Methodist Church and community leaders. It runs a distribution centre at Barleyfields, Wetherby.

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“If any readers do find themselves struggling to afford the basics, the Help Through Hardship helpline offers confidential advice from trained Citizens Advice advisers, and is the main source of referrals to our foodbank,” added Bryony.

The helpline is a partnership between the Trussell Trust and Citizen’s Advice, providing a wide range of help over the phone. Contact 0808 208 2138, between Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm.