Increasing need for Crawley foodbank 'relentless'

They were for the few souls who were down on their luck and we stigmatised them by thanking our lucky stars that we would never have to go, cap in hand, for a hand-out.

But then the pandemic hit, followed by the cost of living crisis and food and power bills which brought tears to the eyes.

The fall-out saw the numbers turning to foodbanks soar.

And in Crawley it prompted levels of generosity which would make anyone proud to live in the town.

Su Parrish is operations manager for the Easter Team, which runs the foodbank behind County Mall.

Before the pandemic, her team of volunteers handed out an average 30 food parcels per week.

Now it’s between 70 and 80 per week and has even risen as high as 150.

She said: “We are seeing an ever-increasing number of people coming to the foodbank who never expected that would be part of their life experience.

“People are leaving it until they’re absolutely desperate to come to us, feeling shamed and embarrassed.

“The increase is just on-going, it’s relentless.

“Every week we have about 20 new households we’re supporting and we already have about 1,400 households on the books.”

That feeling of shame or embarrassment was familiar to Abby, one of the foodbank’s clients.

The mum-of-two relies on Universal Credit and survives on less than £300 per month – and it’s simply not enough.

She was at the foodbank to pick up parcels for herself and two neighbours.

Describing Su and her team as ‘beautiful people’ doing ‘an amazing thing’, Abby said: “When I first came here I was quite embarrassed because I didn’t want to be in that position and I didn’t want people looking at me going ‘she’s using a foodbank’.

“Now every two weeks I’m on the phone saying I need the help. I’m going to ask and I’m grateful that I can get it.”

Clients can claim up to ten food parcels every six months, either single, double or family sized – and there are often extras such as fresh veg, toiletries and treats to top up the bags.

The Easter Team has been part of Crawley’s caring community for more than 30 years. Closely linked with Crawley Open House, the group manages the Crawley Foodbank Partnership.

As well as handing out food, the team also offers top-ups for electricity and gas keys.

Su makes it very clear that anyone who needs the team’s help will be met with compassion, kindness and absolutely no judgement.

She said: “We totally understand that people find themselves in really awful circumstances for all sorts of reasons – and most of those reasons are not their fault.

“We’re here to help and they won’t be judged.”

The foodbank moved into its current building in January in partnership with Love Your Neighbour, a collective of local churches and volunteers which offer help advice and crisis support to those in need.

The building is leased to the group at a peppercorn rent by the owners of County Mall – one of the many acts of kindness which sees Su beaming as she speaks.

A warehouse on Manor Royal was ‘gifted’ to them by a company on the industrial estate and proves extremely useful, especially at Christmas and Harvest-time, when donations from schools peak.

People have set up regular Tesco deliveries, while businesses have donated gifts and funding.

There is even a group of neighbours in Constable Road, Tilgate, who collect a van-load of food each month.

Su said: “People’s goodness to other people has just been humbling. I’ve had people who’ve walked in and given me an envelope with a cash donation and don’t want any recognition.

“It is really lovely how people want to help other people. People are inherently good.”

Looking at the other side of the picture, she said it was ‘shameful’ that a country with one of the richest economies in the world could allow things to get so bad that rising numbers were turning to foodbanks.

It’s a situation not helped by sky-high mortgages and rent rates coupled with low paid jobs at Gatwick Airport and on the industrial estate.

Su said: “I really don’t think the MPs understand. Just by the fact of being an MP puts them in a really high income bracket and I think they have lost touch with how it is for most ordinary people.

“If we had a line for the breadline on a graph, that poverty line is just going up and up and up and there are more and more people that are under it.

“We have to consider the fact that it’s not just that people haven’t got enough money for food this week – which is bad enough – but the knock-on effect of that on mental well-being, on suicide rates, on children’s life experience.

“I’m not sure that our politicians understand just how dire it is for so many people. It’s not a minority of people any more. It’s not good enough.”

One change which Su would see as a ‘short-term win’ would be an increase in Universal Credit.

Christians Against Poverty, which offers debt advice to clients, calculated that it was not possible for anyone to live on Universal Credit or make the money last until the end of each month.

Su said: “There is a fundamental flaw in the system where we, as a political society, have a very low opinion, it seems, of anybody who is really vulnerable, whether that is people who are poor, people who are disabled – any kind of ‘other’.

“It seems to be a system set up to only support rich people.”

To get to the foodbank, turn left along Station Way out of the bus station and you will see the hub tucked away just before the South car park ramp.

Su said: “It’s really important that people know that if they need to contact us and need a food parcel, that’s what we’re here for and they don’t have to be referred.

“People can ring, text, email or just turn up and we will do our best to help them.

“Our parcels are a gift – there’s no strings attached, you don’t have to sign up to anything.

“We shouldn’t be needed but we are needed and we’re here to help.

Contact details

www.theeasterteam.org – includes details about how to donate food or money

[email protected]

Parcel Request Line: 07940 900948. Voice-mail will always be responded to – the office is open 10am to 2pm Monday to Friday but not at weekends or on Bank Holidays.

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