A NORTH EAST charity that supplies food to those in need has seen “a massive increase in demand” and “new faces” after the most recent price hike in energy bills.
The People’s Kitchen on Bath Lane in Newcastle provides three hot meals to vulnerable people five days a week.
However, after the most recent energy cap price increase and since reopening after the pandemic, it has been doing twice the number of meals it was doing before Covid.
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It has also seen an increase in demand for its new takeaway service, something Colin Herron, Team Leader at The People’s Kitchen, said was due to people taking it away for families and friends.
Mr Herron told The Northern Echo: “What we’ve seen is that the numbers that we serve a plate, those numbers have gone up without a doubt by about 30 per cent from the normal level, at the least.”
He also confirmed that the charity was also seeing a lot of “new faces” from “different walks of life”
He said: “We’re also seeing lots of new faces, there’s people who are working and then coming here for food, we know that.
“We’re getting, I would imagine different walks of life, we’ve seen a couple of people come in who have looked remarkably cleaner than what we would normally deal with, that’s not a scientific way.”
According to Mr Herron, one person he serves regularly, works out how much it will cost to use his microwave per-minute.
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He said: “I’ve got one guy who is working out, per minute in the microwave, how much it will cost him to use - seriously.”
He stressed that the recent energy price cap increase has made the situation worse and has encountered a few customers who said “I have to eat here or I don’t eat.”
The Cost-of-Living crisis is also affecting the charity however, as Mr Herron confirmed that their gas and electric prices were “going through the roof.”
He added: “We’re cooking twice as much, and people come in here because it’s warm, and there’s showers which we provide.”
Things are only going to get worse, however, as October is set to bring further price hikes to the energy cap, something Mr Herron said will “leave many people in a difficult position.”
He said: “I know that, on a personal bases, my daughter and her husband, who both work, they’re reflecting heavily on the costs.
“They’re newly married, and they’ve just bought a house and they’re in a position of ‘oh crickey, it’s going to get tight.’”
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“My personal situation is the same as electricity and gas has just doubled, they’ve just doubled it, fortunately I can afford it, but it’s literally doubled.”
Mr Herron concluded that after the next price increase, many people will be brought down below the poverty line, “people who are working, bringing up children and had a standard of living that they’ve enjoyed for years.”
Today we launch Your Money Matters - our campaign to help you overcome the surge in the cost of living.
This year has seen a whole host of household price increases - from the energy price cap rise to surging inflation and food prices - costing your family hundreds or even thousands of pounds extra per year.
Here at The Northern Echo, we’re making it our mission to look out for your cash, offering money-saving deals, competitions, giveaways and insightful stories from your community on the impact this cost of living crisis is having on our readers like you.
Read more on our campaign and how we are trying to help:
- Our mission to help you save money
- How to access a foodbank in the North East if you're struggling to make ends meet
- Where you can get support in County Durham, Darlington and Teesside with cost of living
- LISTED: The closest foodbanks to you as every location in North East is named
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