Last weekend
I joined Labour councillors at the Tesco in Chatham to collect food and donations
on behalf of Medway Bank. The Medway food bank and has fed around over 8,500
people since it opened in December 2011. This figure includes a staggering 3,000
children.
The Church
of England is absolutely right to highlight how the government needs to be
doing more to help the most disadvantaged. We have a cost-of-living crisis in
the UK coupled with a benefits system in shambles (with one lady reported last
week waiting months). Coupled with a zero-hour contract culture we are seeing
low-pay becoming endemic in communities. This hurts Britain over the long term
as it dents aspiration and hinders social mobility. The need for food banks has rocketed over
recent years with 500,000 people across the UK now relying on food donations.
I was
deeply impressed with the generosity of the people of Chatham. I cannot praise
the work of the Trussell Trust highly enough but it is a very sad state of
affairs that so many people cannot afford food in the sixth biggest economy in
the world.
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