Trays of sandwiches and a birthday cake is laid out below a gazebo, with food being passed around a community garden by young families sitting and talking.
Today’s event at the Independence Initiative on Balliol Road, Bootle, may be making the most of the weather to hold what would appear a late summer fayre, but it’s in fact the calm before the storm. “This the hardest crisis we've ever faced without doubt,” Jim Brett, chief executive of the organisation told the ECHO.
Today marks one year since the charity organisation launched its ‘Indy Pantry’, an scheme that stemmed from the number of those getting help from the charity who were “continually asking for referrals to food banks”, according to Jim.
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But the scheme is more like a community shop, where members pay in to receive £20 worth of shopping for £3.50, with all the money going back into the pantry. “Food Banks are unfortunately needed” says Jim, but in our opinion they are not the answer.” The chief executive who had worked at the charity for 18 years, points to the limited amount of times food banks can be used, adding: “And after that you don't get any more food.”
Success is somewhat bittersweet at today’s celebration. Jim explains that when the scheme was launched, they expected an average of 20 shoppers a week, and would review its progress once 100 members had signed up.
He added: “We now have 400 members with an average of 60 members shopping with us each week.
“We never did have a chance to review it. We just had to keep on providing.”
With a pandemic, soaring inflation and bills set to spiral in price from October, a move that could place as many as £45m people in the UK in fuel poverty, Jim agrees the current situation is getting out of control. “We're providing as much support as we can,” he says, “but people will suffer terribly this winter.”
Jim added: “We are short on answers, no matter who I go to. The situation is awful.
“Poverty is going to be the worst it has been for 50/60 years. People are going to die as a result of this, so it's important for us to be here to pick up the pieces for them.”
He notes how organisations such as the Indy Pantry are “feeding off crumbs” despite being “at the coalface” of the cost of living crisis where most support is needed. He expects “hundreds” more people asking for help through the winter.
The work sourcing of affordable food and cleaning products is also proving challenging. 40 food and cleaning packs have all been cleared from the shelves in a matter of hours in what’s been one of the pantry’s busiest mornings since it started one year ago.
Laura Harlock, Pantry Lead at the organisation said required stock has tripled compared to what was required last September. These current levels are likely to have to double to keep up with demand in the coming weeks as inflated energy bills start to land. “People are really scared about how they are going to cope in the winter,” she adds, noting that 20 new members have joined up in recent weeks.
But there is an awareness that the food sources the pantry depends on may become more scarce or expensive as inflation continues to rise. Ms Harlcok said the Pantry won’t be immune to the rises, but added that the organisation will do all that it can to keep the current down payments at £3.50 or £5 - depending on the product selection.
She added: “We just need to plough through it and do it. We can’t take anything away now, the community needs it more than ever.”
Out in the sun, deputy chief executive Paulene Connell is in conversation with local Cllr Christine Maher. The pair question how people will be able to pay the energy bills currently being predicted for the next year, with no clear government intervention yet to be announced.
It is noted that this might not come, if at all, until Liz Truss is likely to be installed as the next Prime Minster. The pair puff out their cheeks in unison, resigned to an almost false hope the more help is coming.
Cllr Maher added: "It's heartbreaking to think we're in such unprecedented times and our hands are tied by Government cuts. As much as we can do to help them, it's still not enough.”
“Since when was it a necessity for workers like nurses to go to a foodbank? It's going to spiral. I can't see light at the end of the tunnel at this minute.”
Initiatives such as the Indy Pantry are playing a crucial role as the cost of living crisis deepens. Today’s displays shows it is a joint community effort, with members of Port Grocery in attendance, an organisation that sends out ford parcels to members.
Some of these parcels are available at the Pantry, but Mary Cawkwell-Hall and Carol Lloyd, who work on the scheme, said the financial pressures are taking a toll. They point to rising “price of petrol, cost of living, everything”, meaning the service has had to increase its price in order to still be able to reach those in need.
"Without these initiatives I don't know how people are going to survive," adds Carol, "there's p eople worried about switching their oven on."
Donations from supermarkets and other charities are also keeping everything afloat. There is a clear tenacity to ensure the doors remain open to the Indy Pantry for another year - even if the job becomes harder by the day.
“By hook or by crook,” Laura Harlock told the ECHO, “it's got to happen.”
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