Rich people help themselves, poor people help each other – I saw a food bank user take in a homeless friend

over 1 year in The guardian

Working at a food bank this winter, I’ve seen how much people are struggling. But their kindness to each other hasn’t falteredThis article is part of the heat or eat diaries: a series from the frontline of Britain’s cost of living emergencyWhen the Tory party chair Nadhim Zahawi was sacked, back in January, I was at the food bank, where I work five days a week. Seeing him not being clear about his tax affairs made me think more than ever that those who have, help themselves, and those who haven’t, help each other. I listened as one woman, already struggling and with several children, was talking about how she’d taken in a homeless friend for a while.In the long months of January and February, when it’s cold and there is anxiety about paying energy bills, people have been struggling. We’ve had a couple of incidents of people coming in very distressed, people who thought they’d never need a food bank. They say: “We thought we could cope”, and they’ve been trying to extend what they’ve got in the cupboard, but actually we are there to help. People come in and feel low; the stigma is still there, regardless of what we tell them, but lots of us have experience of using a food bank. We say: “We’re all having weird things on toast.”As told to Emine Saner. Sophie is in her 40s and lives in the north of England. Her name has been changedThe Trussell Trust is an anti-poverty charity that campaigns to end the need for food banks. Show your support at: trusselltrust.org/guardian Continue reading...

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