New Forest has most in Hampshire referred to food banks as residents face 'tsunami of debt'

MORE than 700 people have been referred to food banks in the New Forest since the coronavirus hit – more than any other part of Hampshire – as voluntary agencies warn people are facing a “tsunami of debt”.

There has been huge demand for services, with the New Forest Basics Bank in Lymington reporting a 30% rise in usage.

It has kept up pace by employing more staff, extending opening hours and receiving help and donations from local stores and groups.

Support has enabled people to put food on the table with hundreds of schoolchildren fed in New Milton by multi-agency schemes, and the Christchurch Rotary Club donating £8,551 to the town’s food bank.

But with the government declaring the pandemic peak passed, and attention turning to a post Covid-19 world, local voluntary leaders have warned of the challenges ahead.

Citizens Advice New Forest (CANF) chief executive Alison Talbot said: “Coming out of Covid-19, it is going to be a tsunami of debt we are dealing with.

“I think it’s really going to hit people because the government schemes are going to come to an end – especially if they come to an abrupt end.

“Not all firms will be able to offer employment back to people and they will need to sort out so much and debt does not go away.”

Since the start of the pandemic CANF has directly helped 588 local people – the top five issues being Universal Credit, employment, housing and relationship breakdown, and debt.

Meanwhile, government schemes do not apply to all, and could also be problematic for those they do assist, she said, by causing mounting debt that will need to be paid off.

“I think looking long-term I would advise people not to store up their debt problems and try to address them right now by having a plan put in place. Get a payment plan together or negotiate with creditors. Do not put it off and let it build up,” she said.

A spokesperson for New Forest Basics Bank (NFBB) said it did not envisage the increased demand “changing for a while”, adding it was serving both regular and a “new influx” of clients.

She said: “These are in-work people who have lost their income, and are now waiting for various benefits or other help such as furlough payments to commence, but in the meantime are without means.

“It is a very big problem across the country, and one we in the New Forest are not immune to.”

NFBB had the added complication of initially operating from a temporary home at Lymington Community Centre and recently moving to a permanent new base off the High Street.

Chair Oliver Stanley said: “In the early days of Covid-19 we had an order for 860 school meals from Arnewood and Eaglewood, and we had no visible source of obtaining food, very few volunteers and a premises that was not fit for purpose – that to me was one of our most challenging incidents. After that, anything was possible!

“We now are helping other schools with families who have fallen through the cracks, largely around the long wait for their funding for those who are self-employed.”

The NFBB has also been part of a multi-agency effort over the past three weeks with New Milton Town Council and Lions Club to hand out more than 200 food parcels in the town.

In Dorset, Tracey Blick, project managing coordinator of FoodBank+ in Christchurch, said it was spending £650 weekly on fresh produce and thanked the local Rotary club for its support.

She said it had extended its holiday hunger scheme, which enables families to collect top-up food parcels, and started its Easter Holiday Hunger Scheme early to help provide schoolchildren the hot meals they would usually have had at school.

A spokeswoman for Youth and Families Matter, which runs the food bank at Testwood Baptist Church in Totton, said demand there had been “steady”.

She added: “We do, however, expect to see an increase in need as people’s financial positions become more tricky. In terms of who is using the service, it seems to be a combination of existing people as well as lots of new individuals/families.”

It had worked closely with local stores, including Asda, Morrisons, the FareShare charity and schools, she said, adding: “The schools we have spoken to most recently are seeing an increase in the number of families struggling financially and who are now eligible for free school meals.”

The area has also been served by New Forest District Council setting up a support hub at its Applemore leisure centre.

At NFDC’s latest meeting on Wednesday, cabinet member Cllr Diane Andrews confirmed it had referred a total of 709 people to local voluntary services since the Covid-19 outbreak – the highest of any region in the county.

New Forest Disability Service chief executive Jacki Keable said its team had coped with “more demanding” welfare benefit appointments over the phone, and the befriending service it started after the lockdown began had helped 89 people.

Hampshire County Council, through its HC3S catering service, has helped deliver 51,000 meals to schools which continue to host children who are vulnerable or have key worker parents.

Ring CANF Monday-Friday, 10am-4pm on 0300 3309 009 or visit www.newforestcab.org.uk