‘Money is tight’: Hackney Giving launches cost-of-living appeal to ensure ‘nobody is left behind’

Food bank donations have dropped by more than 50 per cent this year. Photograph: courtesy Hackney CVS

An appeal has been launched to help make sure no-one in Hackney and the City is left behind by the cost-of-living crisis.

Local charity Hackney Giving has £12,000 in hand but wants to bring it up to £25,000 with support from individuals and businesses.

The plan is to dish out grants of £5,000 to small, not-for-profit community organisations which help people with food and essentials items, with rising fuel and utility bills, or provide hot meals for residents.

“Money is tight, times are hard,” explained one resident who has been helped by a food project supported by Hackney Giving.

Sarah Watson, the charity’s development and programme manager, said: “We know that people in Hackney and the City are feeling the pinch and we want to be in a position where we are helping people to navigate this crisis.”

Over the last two and a half years, Hackney Giving distributed £1.3m in grants to help people get through the pandemic.

Watson added: “We try to make sure nobody in Hackney is left behind.”

The charity, which is part of Hackney CVS, would also like to hear from breakfast, after-school and holiday clubs, as well as services that help people to save money by redistributing and reusing goods.

Hackney CVS chief executive Tony Wong said: “Our members from across Hackney and City’s vibrant voluntary and community sector have voiced real concerns about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis for the most at risk within our communities.

“Not being able to put food on the table, pay essential bills to keep a roof over their head, buy new school uniforms for children going back to school, or being able to heat their homes as we approach winter are some of the real concerns facing our diverse communities.”

Hackney Foodbank said it is busier than usual this year and has seen demand rise above most of the pandemic’s non-lockdown months.

Manager Pat Fitzsimons said numbers have soared as the economic impacts of Covid and the cost-of-living crisis converge.

In 2018, the highest number of parcels distributed in a week was 154, more than doubling to 315 by Christmas 2019.

“Most of the year we were distributing about 200 or fewer each week,” said Ms Fitzsimons.

This year, the food bank team has consistently been giving out about 300 parcels or more a week, but food donations have plummeted by more than 50 per cent.

According to food bank figures, donations this June were 10.5kg- a huge drop from the 48.8kg donated in June 2020.

Last year, it supported 6,900 people – a third of them children – who visited 19,320 times.

Hackney Council has recently given families of children moving into secondary school £100 grants to help with school uniforms.

It is also distributing the £150 council tax rebate to low-income households.

People can donate to the Hackney Giving appeal at hackneygiving.org.uk.

Details on how to support Hackney Foodbank can be found here.