Wakefield church centre predicts 'ever-growing demand' for food bank amid cost of living crisis

St Catherine’s Church Centre manager, Lisa Grant, has said she expects to see “an ever-growing demand” for emergency food provision and ongoing food support to families as the cost of living crisis continues to bites.

The centre’s food bank opened in 2010, and changed into a food pantry in August of last year.

Since then, more than 30,000 food packages have been delivered from the centre on Doncaster Road.

She said: "We are predicting an ever-growing demand on our services, particularly emergency food provision and ongoing food support to families.

"We are incredibly concerned about the pressure this puts on our organisation, staff and volunteers.

“We have recently had more individuals coming forward than in previous months.

"These volunteers say that they are concerned about families in their community and across the country as a whole and want to do whatever they can to support others.”

Her comments follow new research from The National Lottery Community Fund which shows people across Yorkshire are predicting increased pressure on community-run services due to the cost of living crisis.

Eight in ten people say their local food banks are likely to face an increase in demand, and three quarters predict an increase in need for debt advice and support and mental health charities and services.

The annual Community Research Index survey of over 8,000 adults across the UK is designed to find out how people feel about their communities.

Cost of living crisis concerns have had a big impact on people’s perceptions of priorities for the year ahead. Over half (54 per cent) in Yorkshire and Humberside say that supporting people with this is most important for the wellbeing of their local community.

Reducing isolation and loneliness (52 per cent), and people caring and looking out for each other (52 per cent) are also seen as equally important, which may explain why volunteering intentions are strong for 2023.

In fact, more people (49 per cent) in the region intend to volunteer in the year ahead – up from 42 per cent last year.

And three quarters of people across Yorkshire feel a sense of connection to their local community, rising from 69 per cent in 2020.

Joe Dobson, head of regional funding for Yorkshire and Humberside at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “It’s clear that the year ahead is set to be dominated by cost-of-living concerns and that this is a priority for communities in Yorkshire and Humberside.

"Although people are facing challenges and hardships, it’s positive to see that the region’s sense of community holds strong and people feel motivated to volunteer and help others out.

“As the largest funder of community activity in the UK, our purpose is to support people and communities to thrive.

"We understand the current pressures and are listening and responding flexibly to the needs of communities and the groups we fund. We expect to commit over £75 million in funding across the country to support the cost of living throughout the next year.

"We are also undergoing a Strategy Renewal process to ensure that our funding and support for communities is fit-for-purpose in the years to come.”