London food banks expect to see surge in demand

One in five London food banks providers expects demand to double or more in the coming year, according to a survey.

The survey of 614 community organisations, which was carried out by food redistribution charity the Felix Project, found 21% expected to see a significant rise in demand while two-thirds expected to see some increase.

Nearly 85% of the providers said demand had risen since last year, with almost half reporting a growing number of first-time users.

Charlotte Hill, chief executive of the Felix Project, said the cost-of-living crisis was having a “devastating effect” on people’s lives.

The Felix Project, which redistributes surplus food to nearly 1,200 organisations and schools across London, said that nearly 40% of the services it supported were worried they won’t be able to keep up with growing need.

“This survey was carried out before what has been called ‘awful April’ when people saw hikes in their council tax, energy, water and broadband bills,” Ms Hill said.

“This will have further squeezed people’s budgets, left them with even less to cover food and resulted in more anxiety about being able to afford to feed themselves and their families.”

The survey also found that 87% of the organisations did more than provide food, offering services such as debt advice, mental health support and activities such as yoga and football.

Dads House in Hammersmith and Fulham receives more than 600kg of food a month from the Felix Project and runs a four-day-a-week food bank and weekly lunch club.

Its founder William McGranaghan said: “We are seeing new people coming in every week, we are open to everyone and for me that’s so important.

“The cost-of-living crisis is an ongoing issue, too many people are not earning enough to cover their expenses and that’s not changing so they have no choice but to turn to a food bank like Dads House.”