Two-thirds of UK adults1 are very concerned about the economic
impact of coronavirus warns The Salvation Army as its food banks
and poverty prevention schemes report unprecedented demand.
A snapshot food distribution survey of UK Salvation Army corps2
(church and community centres) during one week revealed:
a 63% surge in households given food support by corps which
recorded this work in both February and April for the survey.
Ten of the busiest corps recorded a shocking 174% increase in
households being provided with food support3.
To meet the need, The Salvation Army has opened large scale food
distribution hubs across the country to bulk buy essential food
for an initial supply of around 22,000 basic food parcels. With
each parcel costing at least £16 each, the church and charity has
launched an emergency fundraising appeal to ensure it can keep
providing large volumes of food parcels to families on the edge
across the UK.
Salvation Army officers embedded in communities are reporting a
bleak picture of need:
• In Govan, Glasgow Salvation Army officers helped a 94-year-old
woman who hadn’t eaten for five days. The officers met her after
heading in their van to a housing estate to serve hot meals.
About 60 people are relying on them every day to get a decent
dinner.
• In just one week a newly formed Salvation Amy food distribution
hub at Cradley Heath in the West Midlands sent out 355 bags of
food for needy families and single people hardest hit by the
coronavirus.
• The local Cambridge centre for The Salvation Army is spending
more than £1,000 a week feeding 100 rough sleepers put up in
hotels and guesthouses, and other vulnerable people during the
lockdown. The corps are providing breakfasts, sandwiches and a
hot meal for people.
This comes ahead of an expected announcement by the Chancellor
around changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which is
widely anticipated could signal further job losses among people
currently furloughed and having their wages paid by the Treasury.
The Salvation Army’s leader in the UK and Ireland, Commissioner
Anthony Cotterill said: “It’s years since we have seen poverty to
be such a real and present danger for so many people.
“We really welcome the initial action the government has taken to
support income through the furlough scheme, but we are worried
that the communities we work in will be reeling from the economic
fall out for many years.
“We are approaching a poverty tipping point. Our immediate focus
is scaling up our provision to get food and support to people who
need it now, from families unable to pay utility bills to rough
sleepers struggling to feed themselves.
“We are also looking at the long-term picture. Our Employment
Plus Advisors will help people find work; we will continue to
support stretched families juggling minimum wage jobs with
childcare, and our Debt Advisors will help people make ends meet’
“We are doing everything we can to stop thousands of people
sliding into poverty.”
Donations will help people like Paul4 who was ill with
coronavirus, without food and living by candlelight after his
electricity was cut off when he couldn’t pay his bill. His sister
Amy* said: “When The Salvation Army said they could help, I broke
down crying as nobody else had seemed able to. It was just what I
needed to hear. They restored my faith in humanity. Not only did
they deliver food to my brother, they also spoke to him and made
him feel better about himself.”
To support The Salvation Army’s coronavirus response visit
www.salvationarmy.org.uk , call 0207 367 4800, or send a cheque
addressed to The Salvation Army and post it to: The Salvation
Army, 101 Newington Causeway, London, SE1 6BN.
-- ENDS --
Notes to Editors
1Charity Awareness Monitor, nfpSynergy, April 2020 (Survey of
1,000 adults aged 16+) found 42% extremely concerned, 24% very
concerned, totalling 66% (two thirds of respondents).
2Food Distribution Survey, The Salvation Army, April 2020 (Data
collected between 24 April and 5 May 2020 comparing food
distribution for one week in February 2020 and that carried out
during 18-24 April 2020. Results based on 389 responses producing
a return of 58.5% of 665 corps that received the survey. Many
more corps are providing food support than provided details for
the survey.)
3The top ten busiest corps for number of households supported
with food between 18-24 April 2020 were Leicester South, Govan,
Leeds, Hereford, Aberdare, Boscombe, Portsmouth, Jersey,
Weston-Super-Mare and Chatham. Between them they supplied 3,656
households (families and individuals) with food up from 1,335 in
February 2020.
Breakdown of number of households provided with food support by
top ten corps in April 2020:
Leicester South Corps 500+
Govan Citadel Corps 500+
Leeds Central Corps 500+
Hereford Corps 417
Aberdare Corps 382
Boscombe Corps 320
Portsmouth Citadel Corps 320
Jersey Corps 259
Weston-Super-Mare Corps 238
Chatham Corps 220
4Names changed to protect identities.
