‘Humiliation’ for Horsham foodbank users as numbers soar

A report released by the Trussell Trust has revealed Horsham District Foodbank provided 1882 three day emergency food parcels to people from April 2018 to March 2019.

Emma Elnaugh, foodbank manager at Horsham Matters, said: “We’re seeing a huge increase in the use of our food bank.

“A lot of people are becoming more reliant on this regularly and that’s a changing tide for us.

“It’s very shocking. We’re seeing people who have never had to use a food bank before and find themselves in that place.

“People find the humiliation of asking for food horrendous.

“We’re seeing a definite shift in need and food poverty. It’s a crisis.”

Increase in use down to Universal Credit

Emma attributed the increase in demand to benefits, particularly Universal Credit which was rolled out to Horsham in June last year.

She added: “We do see a lot of very upset people who did not dream of being in that situation.

“The increase [in use] is a month on month increase at the moment.

“[February] was our busiest month and some of that was directly attributed to universal credit.”

Foodbank use has a mental health impact

But resorting to a food bank doesn’t just have a financial impact.

Emma told how the ‘humiliation’ of asking for help can have a knock on affect on mental health.

She said: “It really does affect people’s wellbeing.

“It’s very shocking. [Going to a foodbank is] really, really distressing.

“It’s not uncommon for people to be very distressed when they come in to request support.

“They want to avoid the foodbank that’s in the immediate locations where they live.

“[I hope] they realise they’re one of many and we reassure them of that.”

Emma added that once people have made it through the door they know that they will be supported.

She said: “There’s lots of stigma attached to it. We fed 218 people that month [February]. 139 adults and 79 children.”

Helping all those in need

The food bank helps all those in need and stretches across all demographics.

Emma told how the site aids adults, adults in temporary accommodation, families and the homeless.

She added: “[It’s] a real mixture of people.

“There’s no real specifics about who we’re seeing that increase from.

“The split is about 50 per cent adults and 50 per cent families.

“We’re fortunate that we can be very flexible with our food bank because we’re donated a considerable amount of food.

“People coming in and asking for food already do have that need, it’s not something people manipulate.”

Foodbank gave away 19,000kg of food in less than a year

From April 2018 to February this year the foodbank gave away 19,000kg of food.

Emma thanked the Tesco collection as well as donations from various churches.

She said: “We would not be able to provide the service without all of that support.”

Horsham Matters is a social enterprise set up by Horsham Churches Together (HCT).

Its aim is to deliver projects that provide practical support to those who are in need in the local area.

The charity said: “We are committed to helping those who are unable for whatever reason to help themselves.

“We aim first to meet people’s practical needs and then working with partner organisations to help them with the wider issues.”

Where can I access the foodbank and how can I help?