Food bank stories

Marianna’s story

'We’re very worried about having empty shelves and not being able to feed our child.'

Marianna lives with her young son and husband, who has diabetes. There was a delay in her husband’s furlough money being paid, meaning her family had to use the food bank to get by. She usually works as a cleaner but lost her work during Covid-19 lockdown.

Marianna says:

 ‘My husband’s furlough money wasn’t in for a few weeks so we were worried that we wouldn’t have enough money to cover rent, bills and food. My friend told me about the foodbank, which helped until the furlough money came in.

‘I’ve had a few headaches and felt stressed due to the situation. We’ve definitely had to cut down on the amount of food we are eating. We’re very worried about having empty shelves and not being able to feed our child. Home schooling is very difficult and I now appreciate the teacher much more for the difficult job she has.

‘We were most concerned about paying the rent above all else, but at the same time worried about providing for our son. The furlough money came just in time so we didn’t miss any rent payments. We felt bills should be our priority over food as we were frightened of getting into debt or being evicted.

‘We’re hoping my husband will be able to go back to work. He worked full time in a restaurant as a chef but has been furloughed since the beginning of lockdown. I do private cleaning jobs as and when I can, but it’s no work, no pay and I haven’t been able to work during lockdown. I received my first Universal Credit payment, having applied for it more than a month ago.

‘We don’t need to use the foodbank at the moment as the furlough money has now come through.

‘I would rate the foodbank 5 stars. The lady I spoke to was so kind and helpful. Someone drove round to visit us and we felt very supported. We are very grateful for the help we received.’

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