National Food Bank Day: Make a small change and fight food poverty in Northampton

Food banks feed thousands of people in Northampton every year. In February, Emmanuel Church in Weston Fevell reported they fed over 3,000 people in 2018.Often, people are pointed to food banks by agencies when they are in dire need. Some have not eaten for days; others will feed their children first and go hungry themselves.The need for rapidly rising across the town. Town centre charity Re:Store, based at the Central Vineyard building in Sheep Street, referrals for people accessing the food bank has shot up by 40 per cent in the space of a year.In fact, the charity hit an all-time high in July when 286 people where referred them for emergency help.Re:Store funding Manager Alex Turtle said: "I think the need for food banks has grown because people are more aware of them and we've shaken off some of the stigmas around them."But the situation we've found ourselves in nationally has led to people coming to food banks, such as precarious employment through zero-hour contracts or rent problems."That and universal credit was introduced in Northampton last year, and that caused some teething problems that affected many people."But Re:Store isn't the only food bank in town. Dozens of churches and charities like Emmanuel Church in Weston Favell or the Hope Centre work to offer emergency food to people in need - and all of them rely on public donations.For National Food Bank Day, make a small change and think about how to help your nearest charity during your next weekly shop.Re:Store has published a list of common essentials on their website to print out and keep in mind during food shops. View the list here:https://www.restorenorthampton.org.uk/donate-to-food-bank.htmlIf you are in need of support, a list of agencies who can refer you to a food bank can be found here:https://www.restorenorthampton.org.uk/agencies.html