Food bank usage in London continued to rise in 2024, according to the latest data released by anti-poverty charity Trussell, with numbers above what was recorded at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic – but Southwark is making progress thanks to a food pantry scheme.
Trussell released their mid-year data last month (Wednesday 20th November) which compares the number of emergency food parcels distributed throughout their network between 1 April and 30 September since 2018.
A total of 74,245 parcels were distributed across Trussell’s London network during the six month period in 2018, jumping to 214,123 in the first six months of the pandemic in 2020, but this year that figure has risen to 222,160 – with an alarming 76,361 of those emergency food parcels being for children.
However, Southwark food bank in South East London is successfully tackling food poverty having more than halved usage since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In contrast, the other four South East London boroughs who are part of the Trussell network have all seen increases from 2018 to 2024, with Lewisham almost tripling their distribution from 3,378 to 11,751 – with a peak of 12,014 in 2023.
And Southwark is one of only eight London boroughs to see a decrease in 2024 compared with four years ago, with the other 22 seeing increases – the biggest being an additional 25,000 parcels in Camden.
Further afield across the whole of the UK, Southwark food bank is in the top 5% of local authorities when it comes to decreasing emergency food parcel distribution since the pandemic.
Pecan, the community development charity responsible for the food bank in Southwark, is part of the Trussell network of over 1,400 food banks in 302 different local authorities across the UK, and holds their food bank four times a week at three different churches in Peckham and Bermondsey.
In an attempt to tackle food poverty in the local community, Pecan created an ecosystem of wrap-around services which puts emphasis on helping people when they need it most, and then continuing to support them in a holistic way to improve their future.
Pecan runs Peckham Pantry in two separate locations, a social supermarket which offers free membership and the ability to purchase between £15 and £30 worth of food items for only £4.50.
Unlike a food bank – which provides a pre-packed emergency food parcel containing three to seven days of nutritionally balanced, non-perishable food – the pantry model is designed to give members the opportunity to choose which items they need and want to purchase with the subsidised fee.
Shahid Mugal, Head of Food Services at Pecan, explained: “The food bank is just a foot in the door to access the support that Pecan offers.
“We want to provide help to our community which is long-lasting, not just sticking a plaster on it.”
A user of Pecan’s services who wishes to remain anonymous said: “I hit rock bottom after I lost my job during the pandemic.
“The food bank in Southwark was my saving grace – I never imagined myself needing help like this, but I ended up receiving five food parcels in total.
“I was then introduced to the Peckham Pantry and became a member, and still to this day I use it to help contribute to my weekly shop.
“I have a new job now, but even with being employed I’m struggling – so rather than receiving a free food parcel, I feel a little more dignified contributing to my food.”
Mugal sympathised: “It’s tough for everyone, and with the latest budget announcement it’s only going to get tougher.
“Both our food bank and social supermarket are there for everyone – 20% of our users are employed.”
Alongside the latest data released by Trussell, Pecan has also released data about the usage of their food bank, including the number of unique households receiving an emergency food parcel and how many times they have received one between 1 January and 1 November 2024.
Since the start of the year 2,303 unique households have used the service, with 61.35% only receiving one emergency food parcel compared with 0.21% receiving either 10 or 11 parcels – an average of one per month.
Mugal stated that these figures reflected the amazing work that his team of staff and volunteers do to support the individuals and families in the local community.
He said: “We’re really pleased with the drop in usage of our food bank in Southwark, but there is still a lot of work to do to get it down to pre-pandemic levels.
“A lot of these unique households have become members of our social supermarket which is why the majority of them only use our food bank once or twice – it truly does give them that first step to independence.”
Emma Revie, chief executive of Trussell, said: “The sheer numbers of people in London still facing hunger and hardship is heartbreaking.
“This cannot go on and we refuse to stand by while so many of us are pushed to the brink, left without enough money to live on.
“Our food banks are a lifeline, but they need everyone to play their part to move us towards ending the need for emergency food in London.
“The UK Government was elected with a manifesto pledge to end the need for emergency food and the time to act is now.
“There have been promising steps, but we need a clearer plan with more decisive action to invest in our social security system, if we are to end hunger once and for all.”
In addition to the food bank and social supermarket, Pecan also offers additional services of support including women’s services, community skills, life skills and employment support. If you would like to support Pecan or find out more about their services, please visit: https://www.pecan.org.uk/
Or, if you want find out more about how you can support food banks and Trussell please visit: https://www.trussell.org.uk/
Feature image credit: Trevor Ray Hart
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