COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

The Halo Centre in Binley are desperate for winter supplies



With the winter months quickly approaching and the colder nights drawing in for struggling families sometimes it can be a choice between choosing a hot meal or putting their heating on.

I had seen various messages on social media that Coventry Foodbanks were desperately asking people for winter supplies and thought I would go and see how I could get the message out.

I headed to the Halo Centre in Binley to find out how they were coping, and what kind of supplies they would encourage people to donate.

When I arrived I was greeted by Hugh McNeil, project manager at the centre and was taken around the warehouse where all the donations were supplied, there were baskets full of food and drink such as cereals, pasta, bread and milk.

Hugh told CoventryLive that this year has been the 'toughest year the foodbank has ever had' due to the cost of food going up significantly and families having to make decisions of either heating or eating.

He expressed that the organisation are 'very concerned' about people's health over the winter period and are asking if people can send in donations.

Hugh said: "If you can donate to us at Coventry Food Bank please go to our online shop, we need things that are in a tin, jar or packet or anything that is long dated.''

"One in five people are struggling at the moment with food and this is a massive number, this has to do with inflation and the fact that gas and electricity prices have skyrocketed. It's almost been like a perfect storm where all these things have conspired.

Hugh told us that many people who have never been to a food bank in their life, have now had to resort to it. He said: ''People who have mortgages are coming to the foodbank and even people who have really good jobs so it's now become a complete range of people.''

Donations have also dropped significantly due to the cost of living crisis, so the foodbank had to think of a more creative way to manage the food that they already have.

Hugh explained that the foodbank has now started to act more sustainably. He said: ''We want to be in a position where we are more sustainable and that we have access to food that would otherwise go to waste.''

Going without food essentials for long periods of time can cause issues such as anxiety and depression and according to the Trussell Trust, 38% of people accessing food banks have a mental health condition.

''We have seen huge numbers of people with mental health coming to these foodbanks, and these issues are exacerbated by the fact they just don't have good quality food," Hugh said.

Around the warehouse, were other volunteers, organising food packets, and unloading vans full of food. One volunteer Judith Smith told us how she thinks it's so important that families have a warm meal this winter. She said: ''People have now got more bills to pay out, so if you can choose one over the other, what do you do? Especially if you have young children it must be horrendous to have to choose between keeping them warm or keeping them fed.

"Anything you can donate now would be absolutely lovely as so many people are in a bad state at the moment.''

To donate to the Halo Centre and help families through the winter period you can visit here.