Swansea food bank: Extra funding as demand triples

Tim Brown, pictured left, has osteoporosis and depression and says he is "really struggling"

A food bank that has seen its demand more than triple has received extra funding from the charity commission.

The £2,000 will allow the food bank in Sketty, Swansea, to continue to help locals as the cost of living soars.

Charities across Wales are benefitting from £1m that has been redistributed from other charities where it had been lying dormant.

The Revitalising Trusts programme helps release funds that are not being used and transfers them to other charities.

Sketty Food bank's managers have said the money will help keep the charity going as demand soars.

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Last year, the food bank had around 150 recipients each month - this September, that rose to 518.

Kim Mort said people are having to choose between paying petrol to go to work or buying food

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales breakfast, Kim Mort, of Sketty Food bank said there had been a "definite shift" in how many people are relying on the foodbank.

She added: "People are very anxious about paying their bills. People are choosing between paying bills and food.

"We had a lady phone who had never used us before. She said she could put petrol in the car to go to work, pay the bills, pay the mortgage or do food. We've never had people like that before. The people we've usually had are people in crisis."

'I'm really struggling'

Tim Brown has turned to the foodbank after admitting he is struggling to get by

Among those making use of the food bank was 53-year-old Tim Brown, who has osteoporosis and depression.

He said: "I just came here for some food because I'm really struggling.

"I haven't got any scales in the house, but I test my weight by putting two fingers round my wrist and if they touch, I know I'm still too thin.

"Even catching a bus or anything - if I wanted to catch four buses in four days, it would cost me £20."

Asylum seeker Anna Uskova, 34, has also turned to the foodbank for the first time since arriving in the UK in December with her husband and five-year-old son.

Asylum seeker Anna Uskova is unable to work until her asylum is granted

"It is difficult [to] start a new life when you have nothing and you have a child of five years [so] we asked Sketty foodbank for help," she said.

"I was a bit embarrassed but they [volunteers] didn't ask questions, they didn't teach me how to live they didn't judge me.

"I saw this kindness and how respectful they are and I really wanted to pay them back as I'm not used to getting food for free."

The food bank relies on donations, but Ms Mort said those donations have declined, despite the increased demand, with people increasingly worried about their finances.

This is just one of several food banks to benefit from the extra money, along with an education fund and a domestic abuse awareness programme.

Helen Stephenson, of the Charity Commission, which runs the programme, said: "We've only been doing it for about a year, so it's great news that we've reached that £1m milestone."

She added there was an estimated £12m of dormant funding that the programme hopes to redistribute to communities across Wales.

The money is distributed with the help of partners including Community Foundation Wales.

Richard Williams, chief executive of Community Foundation Wales, said: "The grants generated from these moneys will provide a vital boost to grassroots charities supporting communities across Wales, as they start to feel the pressure and effects of the cost-of-living crisis."

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