Ipswich sees 333% rise in searches for food banks

Research conducted by the comparison site Money Expert monitored Google searches between January 2022 and January this year.  

Using the keyword phrase ‘food banks near me’, it found that the number of people seeking assistance from food banks had shot up by 333 per cent. 

This was the sharpest increase by a wide margin, with the second highest rise shown in Cardiff, where demand rose by 256 per cent. High Wycombe and Barnsley both saw food bank searches increase by 200% each. 

Maureen Reynel is the founder of Families in Need Ipswich (FIND). Since 1990, the charity has worked to support those who are struggling. 

She said that, sadly, these figures were not surprising. 

“The numbers have never gone down or plateaued. We deliver an average of 120 to 150 food parcels every week. Some go to single people, some go to multiple members of a family,” she explained. 

“That is well over 200 people we are feeding each week.  

“But alongside that, donations of food have gone down drastically, as have monetary donations.” 

Maureen Reynel founded FIND Ipswich in 1990. Image: Charlotte Bond (Image: Charlotte Bond, Archant)

The cost of running FIND Ipswich is £2,000 each week. Image: Charlotte Bond (Image: Charlotte Bond, Archant)

The cost of running FIND is £2,000 each week, with £1,500 being spent on fresh food and ambient goods. FIND is run entirely by volunteers, meaning that nobody receives a wage. 

On April 25, more than 74,000 households in Suffolk received their first round of cost-of-living payments. 

These are a series of three payments totaling up to £900, given to those eligible on means-tested benefits. 

While Ms Reynel said that this has helped, she is anticipating demand to increase once more in the next fortnight, after this money has been spent. 

“Lots of tears have been shed. But every day, we do what we do,” said Ms Reynel. 

“This is a new era of austerity, and we’ve got to get through it.”