Foodbanks in Barnet are busier than ever after seeing a surge in demand in recent months from residents grappling with soaring bills.

The cost-of-living crisis has seen more and more people turn to foodbanks for help and the number of people in need of support is now even higher than it was during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rising inflation, which recently climbed above 10%, has also led to a drop-off in donations – and there are now fears that a “cost-of-giving crisis” risks creating a “perfect storm” for foodbanks during the winter months.

Chipping Barnet Foodbank, which is part of The Trussell Trust network, is based at Mary Immaculate and St Peter Church in Somerset Road, New Barnet. The foodbank, which marks its tenth anniversary this month, is open on Tuesdays and Saturdays and provides food parcels lasting three days to people who have a voucher issued by a local agency.

Manager Victoria Miller (pictured below) said demand had recently increased “massively” and September and October were two of the foodbank’s busiest months. She added: “We were feeling a bit positive earlier this year thinking things had improved slightly, but obviously that has changed in the last couple of months.”

The main issues contributing to increased demand are debt and benefits sanctions, Victoria explained, with delays in obtaining benefits leading to a “period of crisis for the claimant where they can’t afford to buy food”.

“People are just not on high enough incomes to make ends meet with the rising cost of living,” she added. “We have seen an increase in people in employment coming to the foodbank.”

Volunteers are now seeing more people from different backgrounds and parts of the borough seeking help, with clients including a former donor and a former business owner. “It could be anyone just going through a tough time,” Victoria explained.

Foodbanks across Barnet are struggling with low donations, she added, as people now have a “much smaller disposable income” with which to buy extra items during their trips to the supermarket. One member of the trust described the situation as a “cost-of-giving crisis”.

“I think it is going to be a perfect storm of issues for our clients because we have the cost-of-living crisis,” Victoria said. “People are just struggling with their fuel bills and their food bills, and now interest rates have gone up, so people are struggling with their mortgages. Rent prices are increasing. I can only see things are going to get busier in the next few months.”

Finchley Foodbank, which is based at St Mary’s Church in High Road, will have been running for ten years in February. Open on Tuesdays and Saturdays, it provides enough food for three days, and people do not need a voucher or referral in order to receive support.

Anna Maughan, the foodbank’s co-ordinator, said: “Demand increased during the pandemic – that is when we saw the largest increase. But since the pandemic, and just in the last month, we are the busiest we have ever been, including the pandemic.

“This is not the busiest time of year for foodbanks. The busiest time is January, when the bills start hitting the floor. We are now entering a time where we are quite worried about what is going to come.”

Before September, the foodbank was typically supporting 120 to 130 households per week. Now, it is supporting between 150 and 160 – equivalent to “around 350 people”, Anna explained.

“It can be working people as much as people who are not working – maybe they are unable to work for whatever reason,” she added. “Usually, lots of people have caring responsibilities which means they can’t work […] And then, of course, we have a percentage of refugees that we support, whether they are from Ukraine or Iran, or wherever they may come from.”

People who “never expected to see themselves using a foodbank” are also now seeking help, Anna explained. “That can be quite emotional and difficult for people,” she added. “It is a big struggle to attend a foodbank for the first time.

“Our donors are also experiencing a cost-of-living crisis, and so donations are very much down. We do need an awful lot of food to keep up with demand.”

Anna said that more needed to be done to catch people before they fall into a “crisis situation” and need to use foodbanks. “This is becoming the norm – that is the problem,” she warned. “Ten years ago, we only had a handful of clients.”

Colindale Foodbank is based at Trinity Church in Avion Crescent, Colindale. Part of The Trussell Trust network, it is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays and provides support to people with vouchers. It marks its tenth anniversary this year.

Ursula Dingwall, office manager at Colindale Foodbank, said: “From Covid until now, we were seeing ten to 20 people per session. Now we are seeing 40 to 60 people per session.

“It is not just people on benefits. It is people who have got jobs and maybe lost their jobs, some are still working but the money is not enough for them to buy the food as well. It has changed drastically.”

“The majority just do not have money,” she explained. “The ones who are on benefits, by the time they [the payments] come through, they have had no money for two months.

“Even if they get that money, it is used for something else: gas and electricity bills have increased, one month it is one price and the next it is a different one. If they spend the money on food, they can’t put the gas or electrics on.”

As the foodbank volunteers start to prepare for Christmas, they are also seeing declines in donations – although some weeks, the number can be higher. Some companies are doing more as they look to fulfill social responsibilities, she explained.

“It is going to get worse now that winter is coming and we are coming towards Christmas, so I am on a campaign sending out letters to try and get more donations,” Ursula said. “Christmas is the busiest time.”

A list of the borough’s foodbanks is available on Barnet Council’s website here: https://www.barnet.gov.uk/directories/food-banks