Food bank supply hub to close in 'devastating blow'

A hub that supplies 17 food banks in a north London borough will close after its funding was withdrawn in what has been described as a “devastating blow”.

Rainbow Centre food bank said it received more than 50% of its food and household items from the hub. Its manager, Sarah Snell, said it now needed "to source that from somewhere else, it’s a devastating blow for a lot of people".

Bob Bevil, from Chipping Barnet Foodbank, said the withdrawal of funding had created "nervousness" among organisations that were "highly reliant" on it.

An “extremely challenging” financial climate was blamed by Barnet Council for the withdrawal of funding for Barnet Food Hub.

Ms Snell said of the hub: “We would go there on a weekly or biweekly basis and they would give us rice, pasta, fresh goods, canned goods, fruit.

“I’m speaking on behalf of many food banks, our [users] are going up by tenfold, for some of the food banks it was their main source of food."

She added: "We have 80 individuals visiting us weekly and they go on to feed a family, so the overall figure we’re supplying is 250 to 300 individuals."

Mr Bevil, an advocacy and campaigning lead, said he was “astounded” at the timeframe presented to food banks to prepare for the closure.

"The food banks were given only eight weeks’ notice to find a contingency when they were informed in early August," he said.

"The communication of the decision was a travesty, especially at a time when childhood poverty is rightly in the limelight.”

Sarah Whitby, director of Barnet Food Hub, noted the “severe impact” of the closure in the organisation's most recent monthly food bank meeting, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It plans to build on existing partnerships with The Felix Project, Volunteers on Wheels and food distributors “to provide short-term continuation of some provision”.

A spokesperson for Barnet Council said its support for the food hub had been initially made possible by government Covid funding.

"We maintained support because of the cost-of-living crisis," they said.

“Unfortunately, like other local authorities, we continue to face an extremely challenging financial climate.

"While we were able to support our hub for longer than many other boroughs, we are sadly no longer able to provide funding for its operational costs."

They added that public health funding would support a "transition period" so that surplus food deliveries could continue to Barnet food banks until the end of the year.

“Moving forward, we will continue to work with local food banks and other partners as part of our commitment to reducing poverty and inequality in our borough," the spokesperson added.

“We recognise that the cost-of-living crisis is not over and are continuing to offer support to our residents."

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