A Tyneside mum collapsed after walking two miles with her young children seeking help from a local foodbank.
The team at South Shields based foodbank Hospitality and Hope organised for the family to be taken home and provided them with emergency food support. This is not an isolated incident, however, and this family is just one of many across the region struggling to put food on the table during the cost of living crisis.
Hospitality and Hope's foodbank supports people who are living in food insecurity, and are available for collections weekdays between 10 and 12. In a normal year, they would distribute 40 tonnes of food to over 4,700 people, but the demand in recent months has exceeded this massively.
Around 60% of the people supported by the foodbank are families, and 40% are people in employment, highlighting just how many different types of people are being affected. They also provide other services such as toiletries, pet food, and links organisations that can help further.
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Brian Thomas, the chief executive of Hospitality and Hope, has spoken about the extent of the problem and he has encouraged anyone who is struggling not to hesitate in asking for help.
"We know all too well that there has been a seismic shift in the types of people that need our support, to those who are in employment and are not being able to live their lives well, in the way that in the past, a job would have allowed them to," he said.
"It is so important that people do not wait until they fall into debt and need urgent support. If they come to us earlier we can help before it gets to that point. Come to us for help as soon as you can, this can make such a huge difference to people's lives.
"We as an organisation are there for anybody that needs our support, even when other services might say no. We specifically cater to the people that are not eligible for government help, as those in the middle can be the ones that are suffering the most."
In order to combat this, South Tyneside Council launched a poverty commission two years ago, in order to streamline efforts to support people and prevent them falling into systemic poverty.
Working alongside their partners, they have launched over 60 warm spaces to give people a place to go when they are struggling, and they are working on other initiatives to further this effort.
Coun Ruth Berkley, the lead member for the voluntary sector, said: "When we talk about the cost of living crisis, I look at it as being about the individuals involved that are experiencing the reality of having so much pressure on them to just simply exist.
"It is heartbreaking to get details of the impact that this is having on families, such as the one in this case, and to know that people are facing a crisis of unexpected proportions is horrifying.
"Sadly, this is the reality for so many families in our area at this time. It is not just about the physical impact that this is having on people, the mental impact is just as important. Having the courage to ask for help when you are struggling is so difficult.
"As a councillor, even though I know we are doing everything we can, it is important that we can offer assistance, alongside our partners working at community level and in the third sector, to alleviate the concerns of families who have been put into extreme crisis. Together we are jointly assisting those who are most in need."
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