Within 45 minutes all the food from this bank will be gone
Evening Standard|October 12, 2022
David Cohen talks to increasingly desperate parents queueing with empty shopping bags outside a school near Battersea Power Station
David Cohen
Within 45 minutes all the food from this bank will be gone

THE queue began 45 minutes before the weekly school food bank opened. It started outside the glass-fronted school entrance, snaked along the wall and, by the time produce-laden tables were assembled at 3.15pm, wound around the corner into the next street.

This was a typical Wednesday afternoon at St Mary’s RC Primary, a school in the shadow of the multi-billion-pound Battersea Power Station development but where 50 per cent of the 195-strong children are on free school meals. And yet the bulk of parents in the queue were neither the jobless nor the poorest in the school.

Towards the front waited Shawn, 45, a single mother of two and a phlebotomist who works part-time, 20 hours a week, preparing blood for testing at a doctor's laboratory and whose daughter does not get free school meals. Shawn said: I am on universal credit because learn so little but as my income is above the threshold of 7,400 a year, my daughter does not get free school meals. I also have a second child, aged three, to feed and I come to the food bank every week. I come early because this queue can get very long. I aim to get at least one day’s meals.”

I watched Shawn load up her carrier bag with pasta, cereal, eggs, rice, yoghurt, lemon, tinned peas and tomatoes. This is a good variety, it helps us a great deal,” she said. Shawn had skipped lunch, as she does every day. It is too expensive to eat three meals a day and feed my children,” she added. A year ago I would spend 50 a week on groceries, now that has doubled.”

This story is from the October 12, 2022 edition of Evening Standard.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the October 12, 2022 edition of Evening Standard.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM EVENING STANDARDView All
Only £65k a month to live like Boy George
The London Standard

Only £65k a month to live like Boy George

The Karma Chameleon singer listed his house for £17m in 2022, turning down offers. Now, he's looking for a tenant

time-read
2 mins  |
September 26, 2024
Welcome to London, unicorn capital of Europe
The London Standard

Welcome to London, unicorn capital of Europe

We're flying far ahead of anywhere outside US for tech investment

time-read
3 mins  |
September 26, 2024
Arteta's Arsenal evolution The next phase
The London Standard

Arteta's Arsenal evolution The next phase

Malik Ouzia and Simon Collings assess how the Spaniard will try to bring down Man City after he signs up for another three years with the title in his sights

time-read
6 mins  |
September 26, 2024
Title fight catches fire after Gunners embrace dark side
The London Standard

Title fight catches fire after Gunners embrace dark side

Arsenal-City clashes take on a welcome edge of animosity

time-read
2 mins  |
September 26, 2024
Whack the hippy gong-boho's back
The London Standard

Whack the hippy gong-boho's back

It happened in Paris one grey February day. Sienna Miller was in an oversized, black leather jacket, lace-trimmed silk slip and clumpy great wedges.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 26, 2024
There's a Starlink waiting in the sky... 7,000 in fact.Can Elon Musk stop them crashing to Earth?
The London Standard

There's a Starlink waiting in the sky... 7,000 in fact.Can Elon Musk stop them crashing to Earth?

As he was preparing his fields for seeding this year, Barry Sawchuk came across a giant slab of space debris. It had come from a spacecraft belonging to Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 26, 2024
'Politicians are only into power-mongering, corruption and cronyism'
The London Standard

'Politicians are only into power-mongering, corruption and cronyism'

We speak to alt revolutionary DEEPAK CHOPRA about biomarkers, his digital twin and his work to save humanity from disease

time-read
4 mins  |
September 26, 2024
I've been waiting for a production of Godotthis brilliant all my life
The London Standard

I've been waiting for a production of Godotthis brilliant all my life

Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati bring a potent, tragicomic chemistry to James Macdonald’s rich revival of Samuel Beckett’s challenging play.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 26, 2024
Trust me, the Ritz is London's bestrestaurant
The London Standard

Trust me, the Ritz is London's bestrestaurant

To whom we turn in moments of gloom and glory can be instructive, a filter of our truest friends. I've fallen out with the Ritz a couple of times, including once after a visit to the bar which didn’t warrant a review (“But you said it was lovely!” they said.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 26, 2024
'Healing is a dirty word'
The London Standard

'Healing is a dirty word'

After four traumatic years, FKA twigs is back with a new album -and a thrilling metamorphosis

time-read
5 mins  |
September 26, 2024