‘It’s a bad time’: Food banks run dry as demand rises and donations drop

As the country faces a cost of living crisis, food banks are struggling to cope with the increase in demand as more people are forced to rely on them. According to a recent survey by The Living Wage Foundation, more than half of low-paid workers -2.7m people - have resorted to food banks over the last year.

The survey found 63 per cent of low-paid food bank users said their use had increased during this time. Meanwhile 78 per cent of low paid workers said the cost of living crisis was the worst period they had faced financially.

Foodbanks are under additional pressure as it becomes more difficult for people to afford to make donations, leaving their resources even tighter. Our colleagues at LancsLive went out in West Lancashire to ask people their thoughts on food banks and if they can longer donate as much as they used to.

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Jill Aspinall, near Ormskirk railway station, told Lancs Live that she had donated to food banks but was feeling the effects of the cost of living. She said: “We are quite lucky we get our pensions. We have donated to food banks; we have pulled back though on spending actually, we are careful as pensions and savings don't last forever, but we will donate still.

“We do a lot of online shopping with COVID and everything. I do know people who go to food banks though; I know there's a donation point in Morrisons.”

Meanwhile, Martin, of Burscough, volunteers at the food bank at Skelmersdale's Ecumenical centre and told us donations were ‘drying up, telling us: “The great problem now is that because of the cost of living crisis, the donations are drying up but we need more donations than ever