From Andrew Forsey, National Director, Feeding Britain, London SW1, UK
JULY 5 2021
While many households have been able to save more money in recent months, such developments seldom include those on low incomes (“UK households save a fifth of disposable income in first quarter”, Report, FT.com, June 30). Indeed, the ability of the budgets of poorer households to cope with sudden expenses or losses of income has been eroded, giving rise to the growing need for food banks.
Just as Feeding Britain has set up a network of citizens’ supermarkets, to help people stretch budgets further and cut dependence on food banks, we are now adding savings and credit facilities to that network in an attempt to build financial resilience.
For many of the people using those facilities, which sit at the heart of their community, this is the first time they have been able to set aside any money for a rainy day.
Here is another example of the mutual aid that has kept many communities afloat during Covid. If the government were to resource the extension of such initiatives, and to fix the holes that exist in the social safety net, it could quickly put our country on a path towards eliminating hunger and the need for food banks.
Andrew Forsey
National Director, Feeding Britain
London SW1, UK