A hungry mother and her disabled son wait for their prescription outside a pharmacy at Little Hulton District Centre. The 52-year-old won't eat all day so she can afford food for her two children. She survives off food banks and the yellow-stickered items that supermarkets put out at the end of the day. It’s a relentless uphill battle that leaves her feeling “hopeless”.
“We’re scraping by,” she says. “We have a catalogue bill that I haven't paid for six weeks because of food and gas and electric taking all the money. We were struggling to pay them in the first place.
“We don't even have a TV because we can't afford a license. I'm anxious and panicked. We've gone without food so my disabled son can eat, we've skipped dinner or breakfast so he can have whatever.
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“It's horrible going to bed hungry – I haven't done that since I was a kid. I don't know how we're going to cope.”
Nearly 100,000 emergency food parcels were given to households struggling to feed themselves across Greater Manchester last year – with almost 40,000 going to children.
That’s according to figures from the Trussell Trust, which gave out more than two million food parcels via its food bank network across the UK in the year to March. Despite the overall drop, the number distributed in Salford rose by 48 per cent from 7,510 in 2020 to 11,088 in 2022 – one of the sharpest increases in the UK.
And the struggling mum isn’t the only person who has found themselves facing an impossible situation in Little Hulton. Carol Davies says her energy usage eats up £4 an hour – and she can no longer afford microwaved meals.
“It’s stressful,” the 69-year-old told the Manchester Evening News. "I'm sick of putting money on gas and electric. The prices have gone up and have the stuff you can't even buy it. Now and again I use the food banks, my daughter usually helps me but she's pregnant now. I'll be having a bacon sandwich tonight and that's all I will eat all day.”
Many have found themselves using food banks and charities in Little Hulton as the cost of living continues to surge. Homeless charity Mustard Tree has been a lifeline for some families, allowing members to purchase up to 10 items including vegetables, fridge items, meat and fish for £2.50. The Big Local can also be found at the precinct, with the national project seeing a rise in those asking for help over the last year.
Debbie Kay pushes her grandson across the shopping centre in his pram. The 59-year-old says her energy prices have doubled – causing her mental health problems to worsen.
"I don't have my gas on and when I do a wash, I make sure I do it all in one day,” she says. We used to pay £20 a fortnight and now it's £40 a week. I'm not too bad with food because I've got bad arthritis, my daughter cooks for me. But her shopping bill has doubled.
"I try and give her a bit of money to help but it doesn't go far. I try and walk places instead of using the car because petrol has gone up. It's out of control.
"It makes me feel depressed. I suffer from anxiety and depression and it's making it go through the roof. I have a big operation soon and it's making me feel like I can't stay at home."
More parents are skipping meals so they can afford internet access for their children's homework, according to Trussell Trust. The charity says various factors could influence the number of parcels recorded within an area, including the prevalence of other food banks and the number of open distribution centres.
But it says the figures fail to reflect the true scale of the problem as they do not account for the hundreds of other food banks outside its own network. Sadly, it expects the need for emergency food to rise further as the cost of living crisis deepens, with one food bank manager saying people were “scared” about the coming months.
Sarah Lowe lives in Little Hulton and works as a house keeper in a care home. While she’s coping with rising costs, the 62-year-old says she is only just managing to keep her head above water.
"You just cope with it, you just have to budget. I'm finding it harder than I was because I only work part-time,” she says. "You just have to live within your means. I'm fortunate I have my son so he helps me out.
"Every week you go shopping and the prices are just going up and up. I'm keeping my head above water because I have a bit of savings.
"Touch wood, I've never needed to use a food bank, it is what it is at the end of the day. It does worry me. I think the government is a lot to blame with all the increases. I've had to buy cheaper food."
Sarah Fallows has recently welcomed a baby boy, who she named Charlie. Since becoming a mum she has received more government help which allows her to manage her rising bills – but she says her family have found the cost-of-living crisis extremely difficult.
“It's really hard to pay gas and electric bills,” the 30-year-old says. "My mum and sister struggle. My mum had to go to Mustard Tree to get vouchers so it's affected her a lot. She's had to choose between heating and eating. It's sad, it's really sad."
