From Revd Andrew Cunnington
Sir, - Here in Redhill we have a foodbank running out of the
Parish Church, and the demand for our services is growing all the
time.
Mindful of the pitfall described in Richard Bridge's article (Comment,
7 March), that we might end up masking "the structural violence
that welfare reforms inflict", which, I guess, means just being a
sticking plaster under which wounds fail to heal, we were pleased
to welcome our MP, Crispin Blunt (Conservative) to see what we do
at our foodbank. We invited representatives of some of the agencies
to whom we supply vouchers for our service, and they turned up in
force to share openly with our MP their concerns and experiences
with the recent reforms.We also invited several of those who use
our foodbank to share their stories.
Suddenly it seemed as if the church was facilitating a focus for
opinion and a forum whereby frustrations could be shared in an
honest and open way with those who take the decisions. We are now
looking to see how we might strengthen such links and help draw
people together, and thus speak with a single, clear voice.
ANDREW CUNNINGTON
St Matthew's Vicarage
27 Ridgeway Road
Redhill, Surrey RH1 6PQ