Banking On Kindness

Food banks around the UK work tirelessly to help alleviate food poverty. Alice Ball rolls up her sleeves to find out what they — and those who rely on them — need to keep going

- Alice Ball

I remember being seven-years-old and sat cross-legged on the cold floor of my school assembly hall. It was harvest time. The church bishop stood before a huge tower of food, constructed from many tins of soup, sardines and rice pudding. He explained that the items were to be donated to the local food bank to provide short-term support for people who couldn’t afford to eat. However, I, in all my childhood naivety, had no concept of poverty outside of developing countries and couldn’t see past the image of my mother’s cottage pie on the dinner table.

In reality, an estimated 13 million people in the UK live below the poverty line. 1 Many of us have donated to a food bank, but what happens to our contributions beyond the supermarket collection bins and harvest festivals?

The food banks

Eastleigh Basics Bank in Hampshire has provided food for 13,806 people since it was set up six years ago and relies upon a team of 20 volunteers to open twice a week. I’m expecting a dull and shabby building, shelves stocked with a nostalgic display of tinned sardines, soup and rice pudding. But instead, visitors are seated comfortably on sofas whilst their food boxes are prepared, and in the back room there are fresh vegetables, pastries, and a crate of baking potatoes on the centre table. Several volunteers greet me with smiles and handshakes, ushering me inside for a hot drink. I learn my first lesson about food banks: they do more than just provide emergency food; they are a place for the community. As one volunteer tells me, anybody can drop by for a “hot drink and a natter”, regardless of whether they are in need of food.