Since the service was set up in response to the cost-of-living crisis in 2021, things in Trowbridge have just been getting worse
“I HAVEN’T eaten for a couple of days. I’m desperate.” The manager of Trowbridge Pantry is told that every day.
Mark Seed, 60, has been helping people escape poverty all his life.
“People who come in then tell you what we give them is the first bit of food they’ve had that day,” he said.
Trowbridge Pantry, on Caernarvon Way, has been supporting families since the cost-of-living crisis of 2021 and helpers believe food poverty is getting worse.
“Ill people who can’t walk are suffering the most,” he said Mr Seed.
“Some people are bed-bound but a lot of it is due to mental illness. During the pandemic, it was just grim. We were literally trying to keep people alive by checking on people in person.
“People from all walks of life come here, but most people who come here are still vulnerable. They can’t afford the food they need by themselves. It’s horrible really.”
Mr Seed’s team offers emergency parcels for those facing breaking point. But they also run a £5 weekly subscription which allows families to leave with a basket of food worth about £25 to keep them going.
“Pantries are catching up to food banks. There are now 121 across the UK,” said Mr Seed.
“They give people more time of day, compared to just giving people stuff and waving goodbye. We’ve let everyone in social housing across Trowbridge know we are here through flyers.”
Mr Seed’s team relies on grant money and one off-donations from supermarkets like Waitrose.
But the pantry’s main supplier, FareShare Cymru, has been hit by distribution issues. “We have more things in surplus like pickled onions and boxes of sweets, as well as fruit and veg,” Mr Seed said.
The volunteers prioritise what to substitute in the food baskets if the pantry runs out of certain food. Should we prioritise the chicken strips? one volunteer asks. Could the ready meals be given instead?
Fridges storing ready meals and frozen meats. The electricity bills on the fridges cost £1,000 a year, Mr Seed said. Credit: The Cardiffian
Volunteer Karen Rose, 52, who lives opposite the pantry, has begun explaining to people how to cook food cheaply with simple ingredients after the team began noticing people were picking up more tinned food.
“One week, I was saying to a woman, you don’t need a jar of pasta sauce, you only need a couple of herbs and some of that coconut milk,” said Ms Rose.
“Do you know what gets to me? It’s when people tell me how they’ve got nothing in the cupboard. It’s heartbreaking listening to people who haven’t eaten because they have no money.
“Some people say to me what if other people need it? I say use it or lose it. I don’t think I know anyone who isn’t struggling.”
“Things are getting worse,” Mr Seed said. “There is food poverty in Trowbridge, but other things too. It all comes back to the fact that people are struggling.”
