On Wednesday the 18th of June, volunteers and staff from Leominster and Bromyard Food Banks joined 700 other frontline staff, volunteers, and people with lived experience of accessing charitable food aid from across the UK. Their joint mission was to lobby their local MPs to support an Essentials Guarantee.

The representatives from Leominster and Bromyard were able to share lived experience with Ellie Chowns, MP for North Herefordshire. They talked to Ellie about how difficult life can be trying to make ends meet on benefits. They particularly highlighted some of the issues that make it more difficult to survive such as the two-child limit, the benefit cap, the wait for benefits when first applying, sanctions, and benefits deductions.

An Essentials Guarantee would mean that there would be a protected minimum level of benefits below which deductions would not be allowed. It would increase benefits in line with inflation so that people can afford essentials. The Essentials Guarantee is being called for by the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN), Trussell , the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Age UK, Amnesty International, Oxfam and many other frontline organisations.

Investing in this way is investing in people - long term investment rather than short term savings. This will save money in the future, because lifting people out of hunger and hardship and enabling them to live well enough will also enable them to become part of a resilient workforce. Keeping people in poverty drives mental health problems and ultimately will cost our country more and more money.

This message has never been more needed. Food banks have been operating beyond capacity for a number of years already and are only able to do so in Herefordshire due to support from the Household Support Fund.

Kathy Bland, Manager of Leominster Food Bank said "It's not right that we are relying on government funds to pay for food for people when the Government could be ensuring that benefits meet the basic cost of essentials so people don't need to come to the food bank. We know we can't manage to feed everyone who needs our help without this funding."

Emma Stapley, Manager Bromyard Food Bank said "It's a terrible situation for food banks to be in. We should be closing down because we are not needed, not getting bigger."

Ellie started the lobby meeting by affirming her support for the issues being raised. She thanked everyone for sharing their stories and was particularly interested to hear from those with first hand experience of the issues of poverty and benefits cuts. Food bank volunteers are in no doubt that cuts to disability benefits will increase the numbers of people turning to food banks yet further. Already one in three users of Leominster Food Bank report having a health condition.

Ellie said: “Meeting with staff, volunteers, and someone with first-hand experience of using a food bank brought home the daily struggle too many face in trying to put food on the table. Barriers like the two child cap and initial payment delays push families trying their hardest into impossible situations, driving rising demand on food banks. I will keep raising these issues in Parliament and urging the government to act so that everyone in North Herefordshire can afford the essentials without having to depend on a food bank.”

It has never been more important to make benefits fit for purpose and to protect people from hunger and hardship. We are calling on the Government to make these changes now.