Increasing number of local families are struggling to put food on their table

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Organisers of a food bank in the town have confirmed that an increasing number of local residents are struggling to provide food for themselves and their families.

At their meeting on Monday, 17th October, Wilmslow Town Council approved a £5000 grant for Food Friend to enable them to continue their food bank project which began in 2011 to provide support for individuals and families who for whatever reason found themselves unable to put food on the table.

With the help of Wilmslow Town Council they extended the provision in January 2014 by a trained counsellor.

Presently they have over 250 households registered with the scheme and have also been helping a few homeless people right on our doorstep.

A spokesperson for Food Friend said "The number of people using our service is rising at the moment due to many people falling through the gaps with the rolling out of universal credit, often having to wit 6 weekly for benefits to come through."

The £5000 grant will enable them to top up their funds for the project for another year which they forecast will support around 300 local families - representing a 50% increase on the number of families supported in 2017.

The spokesperson added "Given the demand for assistance from Food Friend over the last few years, it is clear that the current economic climate - and now changes with the benefits system has meant that a significant number of local individuals and families are genuinely struggling to provide food for themselves. The church wishes to support such members of the community by providing short term assistance to as many people as possible in the SK9 area until they are able to support themselves.

"It has further been our experience that people in this kind of situation and in an increasingly fragmented society, also find themselves isolated or under considerable emotional strain in one form or another. This is why having a trained councillor running the project is of such benefit, to offering a listening ear.

"We have also found that our clients come seeking information about other sources of support e.g. housing or legal issues. We are increasingly linking them or networking with other agencies such as CAB in order to help support them."

A number of young people from Wilmslow High School have volunteered at Food Friend as part of their Duke of Edinburgh award scheme and three young people with special needs are involved with their carers in collecting and sporting food.

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Comments

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Pete Taylor
Thursday 18th October 2018 at 9:54 pm
Surely our MP will be along any moment to comment? After all, getting people into food banks seems to be her specialist subject. https://ind.pn/2CLfVdS