A 14-year-old boy was taken to hospital after banging his head when he fainted from hunger in a London food bank.
Charlotte White, the owner of Eastfield Food Bank in Wandsworth, took to Twitter to share the sad story when she posted: “An ambulance was called, as a 14 year old fainted and hit his head. He hadn't eaten for a while. The cupboards at home were empty. The levels of hardship and suffering we're seeing are extreme. Every week it gets worse and worse.”
She continues: Stark choices – eating vs heating, cutting every other meal – have already been made this winter. We've already seen children sleeping in coats, people coming to us literally starving, with very little support available.
"There is no road left to run. No safety net or cushion available. And after yesterday's spring statement, it will only get much worse. We are desperately worried about what comes next. Those who have the least are already suffering the most. How can we tolerate this?"
From the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 to 2021, 420,000 people used a food bank in England's capital city alone, which represented a rise of 200,000 from the previous year. Charlotte's post has quickly gone viral, having attracted more than 42,000 likes and in excess of 12,000 retweets, as reported by MyLondon.
She also confirmed that the boy was now "OK" and doing well at home, before adding: "Lots of people have asked how they can help. “Please write to your MP asking them to address the root causes of poverty. The wonderful @IFAN_UK organisation have produced a template letter. https://www.foodaidnetwork.org.uk/write-to-your-mp .”
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