If you were on minimum wage with a zero-hours contract, or you were disabled, or suffering from mental health issues, then providing decent food day in and day out was difficult. It only took one emergency, like your cooker or fridge breaking down, for the crisis to begin. People were then left having to decide whether to heat their home, pay the rent, or buy food. Things could very quickly spiral out of control.

At STC, we toiled tirelessly to make sure that no one went hungry, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic caused a record 89% increase in the number of families relying on food banks. One of our local service users, a mother of five children, reached out to us after her fridge/freezer broke down. She was at risk of losing the only food she had purchased through her children’s meal vouchers during the COVID-19 lockdown. We managed to secure a donated fridge/freezer and helped salvage the home from a looming food crisis.

Of course, ultimately, we wanted hunger and poverty to end in the UK. However, until the authorities addressed the cause, we strove to combat the symptoms. Our foodbank supported hundreds of individuals and families across the Bradford district and neighbouring towns such as Huddersfield.

A typical food parcel contained cereal or porridge, soup, pasta, rice, pasta sauce, lentils and beans, tinned meat, tinned vegetables, tea or coffee, biscuits, rice pudding or spaghetti hoops, tinned fruit, UHT milk, and fruit juice. We also provided essential toiletries where required.