I’ve worked to curb hunger for years – watching food waste from stockpiling mount up is heartbreaking

Help The Hungry: Images of discarded food are an insult to anyone experiencing poverty right now – and social distancing means invaluable provisions like breakfast clubs cannot be facilitated

Helping the hungry in the UK seems like quite a juxtaposition given connotations associated with hunger and the UK’s globalised economy. Reflecting on my experiences as a frontline worker in the homelessness sector prior to the coronavirus outbreak, helping the hungry was a regular, sometimes daily, occurrence. Over the past five years, I have supported vulnerable men and women experiencing multiple disadvantages and leading chaotic and complex lives with lived experiences of homelessness.

Day to day, it was not unusual for a service user to approach me and make a request for a food bank voucher, tea, coffee, milk or sugar. A sensitive conversation would take place guided by the food bank’s referral criteria. The response was typically the same: benefits just didn’t stretch far enough.

Service users on my caseload had deductions from their benefits, including sanctions and overpayments. Furthermore, they had acquired personal charge arrears or drug debts which didn’t leave much for essentials such as food. A female service user, who was domestically and financially abused by her son and partner, relied on food bank vouchers to support her family. On one occasion she missed a trip to the food bank and was frightened there would be repercussions. I recall bringing her food from my home to minimise the risk of such ramifications.

I have challenged several assumptions held by other professionals and members of the public relating to deprivation and the causation. Some individuals assume addiction is the only reason for poverty, though this isn’t the case for everyone. It is important to consider what leads people to the point where they must prioritise substance abuse over food. The implications of trauma are underestimated and often lead to maladaptive coping strategies in the form of drug or alcohol misuse.

For service users who have described drugs and alcohol as a mechanism to deal with difficulties that arise in life, it could be considered a form of self-regulation and provides one explanation as to why drugs or alcohol may be prioritised over food. The causes of deprivation are multifaceted; hunger is not as black and white as it seems. It is important to also help those experiencing either for many reasons, some of which may have nothing to do with substances or alcohol issues.​

The effects of coronavirus are unparalleled and continue to send shock waves across the world. Nationally this landscape has been well reported, however, the government has been criticised for neglecting the homelessness sector and failing to respond.

On 5 March, one of the UK’s leading homeless charities, Homeless Link, highlighted the risks Covid-19 poses to homeless people. For example, they are more likely to have underlying health conditions and nowhere safe to self-isolate. As a frontline worker in Coventry, I’d like to share a snapshot of what is happening locally. Prior to coronavirus, individuals with lived experience of homelessness staying in supported accommodation used in-house food provisions such as breakfast mornings. These breakfast clubs were widely available across the city and worked with organisations that provided free meals daily. However, social distancing means this service cannot happen.

Nationally, the government has been proactive with housing rough sleepers in bed and breakfasts to aid self-isolation. However, bed and breakfasts have been widely criticised for being ill-equipped and lacking appropriate cooking facilities, limiting the types of meals that can be prepared. It’s an issue that contributes to hunger and exasperates the mental health of those experiencing homelessness, who reportedly have a higher rate of mental health problems compared to the rest of the population.

Charities within this sector are dependent on the goodwill of local communities and food donations. I work as a project lead for KairosWWT, a charity that specialises in supporting vulnerable women engaged in street-based sex work and sexual exploitation. I am leading a project called A Home of Her Own working in partnership with Coventry Haven Women’s Aid funded by Homeless Link. We are working closely with key partners to ensure our service users, who are considered invisible, have access to food during this challenging and uncertain time. But there are concerns donations will soon deplete as a result of panic buying and stockpiling.

It’s creating disastrous consequences for our service users and contributes to a vicious cycle concerning supply and demand, which is why campaigns like The Independent’s Help The Hungry are trying so hard to spread generosity. With coronavirus to contend with, consideration must be given to those most in need, including women experiencing or at risk of domestic abuse and those living in households where individuals have lost their jobs or are living on a reduced income. Risk factors relative to hunger are likely to increase as food becomes a precious commodity.

Newspapers have reported images of food waste this week as a result of panic buying, which undoubtedly infuriated the nation. I personally feel these images are an insult to anyone experiencing hunger right now. How can our food sources be sustainable when there is so much unnecessary waste?

I am an optimistic soul and believe in the solidarity of mankind. We can work together by illuminating the invisible, highlighting the vulnerable and considering those on the frontline working selflessly in what seem to be impossible and frightful circumstances. Helping those most in need and feeding the hungry is a challenging task, but it’s possible if we take care of each other.

Michaela Campbell is project lead at charity KairosWWT