by Simon Hawking, CEO of Acts Trust
How are we doing, Lincoln?
I’m a Yellow Belly, born and bred in Lincoln and I love that I get to work here too!
I’ve been involved in running charity projects in the city for over 25 years, meeting a lot of people who are achieving amazing things and overcoming all kinds of challenges.
Over much of this time, I’ve noticed that the local food bank stats are like a pulse, showing the state of Lincoln’s health.
When times are tough, food bank use goes up.
It pains me to say that right now Lincoln is currently experiencing its highest level of food bank referrals on record, with too many households having to rely on emergency food provision.
Lincoln is struggling.
What’s happening at Lincoln’s foodbanks?
In the last 12 months, between Lincoln Foodbank and Lincoln Community Larder (the two largest providers in the city of emergency food provision) there were 9,469 referrals.
This represents an astonishing 173,853 meal portions (34% of these went to children).
This is a 33% increase in the number of referrals compared to last year, which itself was a record year.
We know the main reasons people tell us why they access this help: rising costs of essentials, low income and high expenses.
It doesn’t sound surprising.
The food bank teams in our city (most of which are volunteers) are heroes, and the food parcels are a lifeline for some.
However, ultimately for Lincoln we want people to feel resilient and empowered –
Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t need any food banks in our city?
Together with other partners in Lincoln under the banner of the Greater Lincolnshire Food Partnership, we’re working on ways to support people to build this resilience.
For example, Acts Trust runs the Restore Programme which helps people to overcome issues which can lead to them turning to a food bank.
Together we’re reinforcing the belief that the best place for people to feel supported is to be part of a positive community.
Lincoln Foodbank currently has a partnership with Citizens Advice to provide advice and support directly to people whilst they are accessing food banks.
We also now have community groceries springing up which provide a low cost alternative to going to supermarkets.
If you would like to help support our local food banks and community groceries, please visit lincolnshirefoodpartnership.org/support-a-foodbank for a list of local food banks that you can reach out to. Perhaps you’d like to organise a food collection in your community?
If you ever find yourself in a position where you are struggling, please don’t face your challenges alone! There is always hope: reach out to your local food bank for advice and support at any time: lincolnshirefoodpartnership.org/foodbanks
Simon Hawking
CEO Acts Trust
This was published in the November edition of the Lincoln Independent
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