“A godsend that nobody wants to have to rely on” – life on the frontline at a food bank

Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters

From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts. Become a member today

Steve Jones was hard at work inside St Peter’s Church, dealing with enquiries, quickly packing parcels and welcoming people who came through the door.

Other than a small number of pews and the stained glass windows that let the early March light in, there was little to suggest that this was still a religious building.

It was now unmistakably the heart of the Rhymney Valley Foodbank, where green and black coloured crates filled with stock items such as ambrosia, teabags, tinned fruit and pasta took up the floor and lined the surrounding walls on metal racks four shelves high.

“You probably think there’s a lot of food here,” said Steve, food bank operations manager, about his surroundings, “we‘re currently sitting on about ten tonnes.”

But while this amount may seem large there is a need for the volume. “We give out three tonnes a month,” added Steve.

In fact, over Christmas and the new year, the stocks were wiped out.

“At the beginning of January we had nothing,” said Steve. “There was not a single tin anywhere.”

The food bank, which is run by the Islwyn Ministry Area and trades under the name of Rhymney Valley Foodbank, is part of the Trussell Trust’s network of 428 food banks.

According to figures provided by the Trussell Trust, Rhymney Valley Foodbank has provided more than 4,500 food parcels in the first two and a half months of 2023 alone. This number marks one of the biggest increases in Wales compared to last year.

It also comes despite a decrease in food bank usage in Wales and the UK in the year 2021/22 compared to the previous year.

There is a simple way to describe what Steve is seeing. “For some people, at the moment, food is a luxury when it should be a necessity,” he said.

When every month is a busy month and every day is a busy day there is just one main rule – expect the unexpected.

“No two days are identical in the food bank,” said Steve.

There are, however, patterns emerging of people in need of help, with more and more pensioners and working families accessing the service.

“We’re getting more and more older people, which is heartbreaking,” said Steve. “Their state pensions aren’t able to last across the month.”

There are more working families too, whose salaries are not making ends meet every month.

Steve highlighted some recent visits that stuck with him, including a family who were victims of fraud and a husband and wife who are both nurses unable to provide for their two children.

“They were so upset to come in here,” said Steve about the two nurses. “For many, walking into a food bank is very stigmatised.”

Several people are accessing the food bank because of one or two unexpected life changes, like Matthew who is 39 and from the Crumlin area.

He started using the food bank recently after he needed to give up work to look after his three-year-old daughter.

With around £10 to last him for two weeks, he says, there was a choice – putting on the heating or putting food on the table for his daughter.

That’s when a friend suggested he come to the food bank, something which brought a pang of shame and nerves.

“I was a bit nervous about coming in because my parents always worked when I was growing up,” he said. “But obviously, times are changing at the moment.”

This came after things had already become difficult for him as fuel prices jeopardised his work as a courier.

“Money is a joke anywhere,” Matthew added, “everybody’s suffering and these places keep you going.”

But perspective is important, as Matthew said: “As long as I get food on my daughter’s plate. That’s all I care about.”

Along with the bit of money he receives, the food bank now helps to cover Matthew’s and his family’s needs.

“The money off the Government is a joke but I mean some countries haven’t got that either,” he said. “I do count my blessings.

“I’m not a religious man at all but places like this,” said Matthew, trailing off, “they are a godsend that nobody wants to have to rely on.”

Just as people rely on food banks, the food bank in turn relies on donations, funding and grants to keep providing its services.

Money from the Household Support Fund and other grants have been invaluable – Steve estimates they’ve spent around £10,000 since January 7 this year to replenish their stock.

£4k grant welcomed by Rhymney Valley Foodbank in the ‘hardest of times’

A spokesperson for Caerphilly County Borough Council said: “We work in partnership with the Rhymney Valley Foodbank to provide targeted support to Upper Rhymney Valley residents most in need during the cost-of-living crisis.

“The foodbank are members of the “Caerphilly Food Network”, a collection of foodbanks which work with our Caerphilly Cares Team to help reduce food poverty across Caerphilly County Borough.

“The food bank has received financial support from our Household Support Fund, funded by Welsh Government, to help them replenish their food stocks to help provide emergency food parcels.”

Donations in kind are also key. Meg and Martin are a couple from Rhymney who have donated regularly over the last 18 months. 

The couple funds the donations from government financial support they say they don’t need.

“The government kept giving me money because I’m disabled,” said Meg. “If we needed it, it would be different.

“Over the last year we’ve got various lumps of money,” she added. “I’d rather it went to somebody who could benefit from it.”

They check the Trussell Trust website to see what is needed – often it’s tinned fruit and pasta – along with a treat, like advent calendars or Easter eggs.

“I think it’s important to actually feel human,” said Meg.

They chose the Rhymney Valley Foodbank, which covers Rhymney, New Tredegar and Aberbargoed, for its transparency and approach.

“The nice thing about this is we know where it’s going. It’s targeted fairly locally,” said Martin. 

“It’s much more direct than some of the sort of big charities that are almost like corporations.”

People on the ground, like Steve, also keep things running – sometimes quite literally.

Carl, 41, from Aberbargoed, has been using the food bank since the start of the pandemic after he and his partner, who is a full-time carer, lost their house in Newport and couldn’t afford to rent there.

“It’s just so hard,” said Carl, who admitted he was “struggling with everything” – from gas to electricity and food.

His household will access help if and when they need to and that help often comes thanks to Steve.

“There’s always something he can help you with,” said Carl, “he’s a busy bee.

“One text and he’s there. He deserves a gold medal.”

Emma Revie, chief executive at the Trussell Trust, has also highlighted the importance of staff and volunteers.

She said: “The staff and volunteers at Rhymney Valley Foodbank are incredibly important to us and their community, and we could not continue the work we do without them.

“It never fails to amaze us how much time people are willing to give, and this has never been more apparent than during the past year when so many more people have needed help.”

“Our staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly, under incredibly challenging circumstances.

“An emergency food parcel and compassionate, practical advice can make all the difference to someone facing crisis. We would like to thank all our staff and volunteers for giving so much.”

The opening hours may come to an end in the early afternoon for the food bank but Steve’s day continues as there is always something to do – though it’s rarely what Steve prepared for.

“I make these very big plans,” said Steve, “it normally changes.

“You don’t know what crisis is going to hit you.” 

---