Demand at Middlesbrough food bank 'relentless' as destitution rises

Tracey Godfrey-Harrison said demand for the food bank's services are rising

A food bank is facing "relentless" demand for its services as families prepare for the colder winter months.

Middlesbrough Foodbank has already fed more people this year than it did in the whole of 2022.

Families in the area are among those in the UK most likely to be lacking food and essentials.

Middlesbrough Foodbank manager Tracey Godfrey-Harrison said: "More people need the food bank because they have had to put the gas and electric on.

"It's relentless, to be honest" she said. "People don't know what to do."

So far this year, the food bank has fed 12,616 people, 20% more than the 10,477 fed in 2022.

Ms Godfrey-Harrison said the food bank gets "frequent" requests for help with other essentials including gas and electricity.

In these instances it directs people to other agencies that may be able to help.

Ms Godfrey-Harrison said: "[There are] married couples who have both got jobs and they can't afford to live because everything has gone up [in price]."

Lacking basic essentials

Middlesbrough has one of the highest levels of destitution in the country, according to a report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

The charity defines someone as destitute if they have lacked access to two out of six essentials (shelter, food, heating, lighting, clothing and basic toiletries) or if they are on an extremely low income.

Middlesbrough had the third highest level of destitution in the country, while Newcastle was seventh.

Middlesbrough's deputy mayor Philippa Storey said poverty levels are "far too high". She said she is working on the council's anti-poverty strategy.

"Many of the solutions we need to help fix the problem need to come at a national level. The benefits system must be overhauled to better protect families, including more help for those in work," she said.

Newcastle City Council said it had supported almost 20,000 people access more than £20m in previously unclaimed benefits in 2020-21.

"Our council has a proud history of doing everything we can to improve the lives of our residents," a spokesperson said. "But we are dependent upon [central] government funding.

"It is up to [central] government to make society fairer and fund local government adequately if we are to halt the shameful rise of destitution in our country."