Ukrainian refugees in the UK are turning to food banks amid rising inflation and the struggle to find employment.
More than 148,300 Ukrainians have been granted sanctuary in the UK since the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion, the latest government data up to June 2022 shows.
Yet 1,915 Ukrainian households who are homeless or at risk of homelessness have turned to English councils for help since 24 February - and some are having to rely on donations to help feed themselves.
At Kingston foodbank in London on Tuesday, 17-year-old Ukranian Vlad had come to get help with his mother Tetiana, 49.
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They were living locally with sponsors they had met through the Homes for Ukraine scheme and came to the foodbank to get groceries every two or three weeks.
Vlad, who is studying at Richmond college, had woken up at 6am to log in to his extra online classes with his school back in Ukraine.
His mother is going along to English courses so that she can convert her Ukrainian teaching diploma for use in the UK.
“We get Universal Credit for all of us, £800 a month,” Vlad, who also has a younger brother at primary school, told The Independent.
“The food prices here are nearly twice bigger than back in Ukraine so we want to save a bit by coming here. Prices in Ukraine even now are bigger than here.
“We’ve met quite a lot of Ukrainians here. There were already a few communities in Kingston,” he said.
The family is able to get free sim cards from a community bank nearby and they use the free wifi provided by their sponsors at home. Vlad’s father and aunt are still back in Ukraine and the family hope to return home when the war ends.
Food prices in the UK have soared over the past year, with inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages currently at 14.6 per cent.
Another Ukrainian who was using the foodbank, a woman in her 20s, told The Independent that her sponsorship arrangement through the Homes for Ukraine scheme was ending in two weeks and she hadn’t been able to find a new place to stay.
She had worked for over 5 years in television media back in Ukraine but was struggling to find even low-skilled jobs in London.
During The Independent’s visit to the Kingston food bank on Tuesday, there were at least five Ukrainians who came to use the services and volunteer Jane said that they had a small group of regulars who came to get help.
One newcomer - who spoke little English and had been waiting for the doors to open at 10:30am - lit up when Jane welcomed her with the Ukrainian word for hello.
Kingston food bank is part of the Trussell Trust’s network of 1,300 food bank centres. The charity has launched an emergency appeal, warning the soaring cost of living is “driving a tsunami of need”.
The organisation delivered 46 per cent more emergency food parcels in August and September this year compared to the same months in 2021.
Some 1.3 million emergency food packages, designed to feed a family with three days worth of meals, will be needed in the next six months, the charity said. This includes half a million for families with children.
Some councils have also decided to offer families hosting Ukrainian refugees extra payments to cover rising bills, amid uncertainty about the government’s ongoing support for the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Gloucestershire County Council has said hosts will receive a £375 “thank you” bonus and an extra £100 a month for the second six months of the scheme. Hosts have received £350 a month so far.
In Hampshire, the council has said that it will pay residents hosting families an extra £200 per month for the next five months.
A government spokesperson said: “More than 138,400 Ukrainians have been welcomed to the UK since Putin’s invasion and the overwhelming majority of these have settled in well.
“All arrivals have access to benefits and employment from day one and we are giving hosts £350 thank you payments to cover any additional costs. Councils have a duty to ensure families are not left without a roof over their heads and we’re giving them £10,500 to provide this support.”
