In 2020, we must figure out how to make food banks a thing of the past

The question of what to do about poverty, especially in a rich country like the UK, should trouble us all

Britain has seen an extraordinary growth in food banks in the past two decades. AFP

January is the time for new beginnings. The month is named after the Roman two-faced god Janus – two faces because Janus looks to the future as well as the past. That brings with it reflections on the year which is ending plus New Year Resolutions to do better in the year ahead and get rid of bad old habits. We promise to get fit, eat more healthily, visit our relatives more often – expunging the guilty pleasures of the past year with promises of better behaviour. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it is just a temporary burst of good intentions.

The British Fitness Industry Association claims January is one of the big months for people to sign up for gym memberships. The catch is it often does not last. Many drop out at the end of the contract. January is also the month of reflection about money. The credit card bills for all those things we have so carelessly purchased in the explosion of over-indulgence at Christmas and New Year, come due. We find we are paying a heavy load of debt interest if we cannot clear the bills for what we have bought.

However, maybe another kind of reflection is also due. In terms of total GDP, Britain boasts of being the sixth-largest economy in the world. But in terms of GDP per capita, we are something like the 20th richest, pointing out the great divisions between rich and poor. Some 14 million British people are considered to be living in relative poverty in a country of 65 million. Most of those deemed to be in poverty are in families where someone is working. Beyond inequality of income, wealth inequality shows an even greater divide. Almost half the UK’s wealth is owned owned by just 10 per cent of the population.

When families of people in work are going hungry, is it not time to feel outrage as well as pity?

The question of what to do about poverty in a rich country should trouble us all, even though there are many points of light in this darkness. Throughout the Christmas and New Year period, British charities have been exceptionally busy, especially those involved with food banks.

I have been at a “Meat Raffle” in a local hotel. Every year, a small family butcher donates chicken, beef, lamb, sausages and other food products while those of us attending pay a pound a ticket to enter the raffle. The winning tickets are pulled out of a hat and a few winners go home with some meat, while the local food bank volunteers leave with several hundreds of pound in donations.

The left should criticise wealthy societies in which personal gain has so far outweighed the common good that people have to resort to food banks. AFP

It is a small act of kindness but it means a great deal to some of the less well off families in the area. The food bank volunteers, the generous butcher and all who contribute are doing what they can. But as we look ahead to 2020, it must surely be time to figure out how to make food banks a thing of the past. When families of people in work are going hungry, is it not time to feel outrage as well as pity?

There is nothing new about hunger or the divide between rich and poor but Britain has seen an extraordinary growth in food banks in the past two decades. Informal food banks have always been associated with churches, mosques and other places of worship. The biggest British organiser of food banks, The Trussell Trust, started in Salisbury in 2000. From that one location the trust now runs a network which accounts for about two-thirds of all British food banks. Recently the trust reported that by 2011, they had 65 food banks and by 2019 the number topped 1,200. Their recent report says the Trussell network distributed 61,000 food parcels in 2010/11, rising to an astonishing 1,583,000 in 2018/19.

The reason why demand has risen so rapidly is a matter of considerable political contention.

The Conservative party has been in power in Britain since 2010 and many statistics about the economy look good. Since the recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, the UK now has very low unemployment. Britain’s social welfare system has been reformed but those on various types of benefits often experience delays in receiving money from the government. And for many, life is precarious.

One hard working woman I know faced a major financial crisis when the car she needed to get to work suddenly broke down. She could not find the money for repairs without getting into debt and without paying for repairs, she could not earn a living. Statistics about a thriving British economy do not mean much to someone for whom a few hundred pounds makes all the difference between a decent life and a major financial crisis.

Trussell calculates eight to 10 per cent of British families suffer a degree of food insecurity. This is particularly true of those with young children. As they put it in their Christmas campaign: “Our Christmas Wish. No child should know what a food bank is – let alone use one at Christmas.”

That is my wish for 2020, too: hoping Trussell for the first time in 20 years reports that the need for its services is declining.

Gavin Esler is a journalist, author and presenter