The Bourne food bank

It was widely believed that social deprivation would end with the creation of the welfare state which began to emerge in the early years of the 20th century, a concept of government based on the principles of equality, the equitable distribution of wealth and a public responsibility for those unable to provide a good life for themselves, and yet 100 years later the gap between rich and poor has widened and the number that need state help increases annually.

It is against this background that we need to appraise the current government policy of spending cuts which target the less well off, especially those struggling to survive on low wages and drawing benefits because they have become the nation’s new poor. Many cannot afford to keep warm because of soaring heating bills while the easing of hunger is a daily problem as the £ slowly loses its value and food prices increase almost weekly. In the 19th century, these luckless people had to resort to the soup kitchen while today it is the food bank that has become their lifeline.

These outlets for free food began to appear in the United States almost fifty years ago and are now evident in many parts of the world, even in England, usually non-profit making charitable organisations that distribute provisions to those who have difficulty in buying enough to avoid hunger and there has been a rapid growth in them as a result of the austerity imposed by the government in the wake of the current financial crisis. Almost half of those who use them have had problems with their benefits, are on low income jobs or are struggling with debt repayments and other expenses and the demand for even more food banks is expected to increase further when the latest welfare cuts come into effect next year.

Most food banks in this country are run by the Trussell Trust and manned by volunteers from local churches who give out provisions directly to the hungry. About a third of their supplies come from supermarkets although much of it is donated by individuals. The trust was formed in 1997 to help forgotten people such as the homeless children sleeping rough in Bulgaria and eventually spread to the United Kingdom, expanding its activities to all people facing hunger because of a short term crisis and there are now more than 200 food banks in this country which last year fed more than 128,000 people. They exist in many local towns including Stamford, Spalding, Grantham and Peterborough, and as the recession continued to bite, plans began in December 2012 to establish one in Bourne.

Churches in the town worked with the trust to establish a centre for storage and distribution which was eventually chosen as the schoolroom attached to the United Reformed Church in Eastgate. One of the organisers, the Rev Andy Warner, minister at the Baptist Church in West Street, told The Local newspaper (7th December 2012). “This is all about our local community pulling together to help those most in need and signposting them to appropriate agencies to improve their situation.”

By April 2013, almost one ton of food had been collected and organisers were preparing for an opening date the following month. Apart from the main storage centre at the United Reformed Church, various collection points had been established around the town and a small army of volunteers was busy adding to the stock which included sugar, soup, puddings, tea bags, coffee, cereals, pasta sauces, milk, fruit juices and instant mashed potato.

The scheme has been actively supported by Tesco which has a store in South Road where the company’s policy of food collection is already underway. All donations will be topped up by 30% as well as providing funding to enable the distribution organisations build on their work. Other collections were arranged at Sainsbury's supermarket in Exeter Street.

One of the volunteers, the Rev Andy McManus, of the New Day Baptist Church at Morton, near Bourne, told the Stamford Mercury (March 29th) that the response had been amazing. “Although we have suggested just one item from our list, some people have been coming out with bags full of food”, he said. “Lots of children have also been involved, handing over packs of biscuits and packets of sugar. They all seemed really pleased to be giving something. The food bank would not be able to function without this generosity.”

By the time the food bank eventually opened on Tuesday 7th May, two tonnes of food had been donated and regular collections were being held at various stores around the town. An official launch followed on Friday 19th July by the Mayor of Bourne, Councillor David Higgs, by which time more than 40 families had received help.

"We expect that number to double in the coming weeks", said Mr McManus. “This has been an incredible year. Since our early meetings we have recruited a large number of trained volunteers from the town ready to collect, sort and give out food and those who are visiting the food bank are finding a welcoming venue to receive their provisions. We have been blessed with an amazing response from shoppers who have seen us on collecting days around the town and there have also been donations by all of the churches.”

The distribution is being closely regulated and food is only being handed out to people with vouchers that have been issued by health and social care practitioners who identify those most in need.

REVISED JULY 2013