Cost of living crisis: Wakefield Street Kitchen 'busier than ever before' as more food banks become paid pantries

Anna Natasha Howard, a trustee and founder of Wakefield Street Kitchen (WSK), has said referrals for food parcels have tripled at the charity in the past few months.

She says the soaring number of people needing free food from WSK is due to the cost of living crisis coupled with the fact that more food banks in Wakefield and the neighbouring five towns are becoming food pantries, which residents need to pay for.

Food pantries work by offering people more autonomy over the food and items they receive in a parcel but for a cost, typically around £5 or so to cover administration costs.

Wakefield Street Kitchen operates in four ways; as a weekly soup kitchen, a food bank, a meals-on-wheels service and as a distributor of food and other goods to local charities.

Last week, the organisation gave out over 416 meals and 120 puddings, which Anna says “is a lot more than on average, previously”.

Anna said: “We help people from various backgrounds. We have a lot more people who are working but cannot afford to make ends meet.

"We are seeing more elderly people and families without electricity asking for a food parcel that doesn’t require cooking. That never happened before but it is a common occurance now.

"The cost of living crisis has just gone through the roof. We are just about coping and managing the numbers. Some of the food banks in the local area have become pantries, which means people have to pay for their food parcel.

"They don’t cost a lot, but when you don’t have that money, you don’t get the food. Our referrals have tripled since then.

"I’ve never seen numbers like this before and it is scary because we’ve not hit winter yet. We’re just trying to keep our head above water, at the minute.”

Anna anticipates that many families across Wakefield will be without electricity over the winter or will be plunged into further debt.

She also anticipates that many people will become homeless and live in temporary accommodation.

She added: “I think the mental health crisis will spiral out of control because people will be sitting in the dark without electricity.

"For the charities on the frontline, it is not looking very positive either. With the rise of fuel costs, it is becoming harder to do deliveries and pick-ups. We are surviving but barely.”

WSK also works closely with Nic Stansby, a former councillor who set up Wrenthorpe and Kirkhamgate Assist from her local Methodist church at the start of lockdown to help residents with food parcels who might be struggling.

The charity is also supported by Wakefield College as well as by a number of businesses including Warburtons, which donates 300 loaves of fresh bread a week, Morrisons, Aldi, Tesco and Co-op, among others.

In the coming weeks, WSK is going to put out an online fundraising page to help pay for food parcels and hot meal provisions over the Christmas period.

For more information on how to access a food package from Wakefield Street Kitchen or to donate to the charity, visit the group’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/wakefieldSKV/ or website https://wakefieldstreetkitchen.co.uk/.