THREE Free churches and a poverty action group have launched an
online resource, "Faith in Foodbanks?", on the burgeoning use of
foodbanks. It not only looks at the problem of food poverty, but
also offers guidance on how to tackle the causes of food
poverty.
Produced by the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Methodist
Church, the United Reformed Church, and Church Action on Poverty,
the resource recognises the ministry of many churches that are
helping people; looks at why there has been such a growth in
foodbanks; and offers worship and Bible resources to help
Christians to reflect on food and poverty.
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the URC, the Revd Dr
Michael Jagessar, said that foodbanks were "a sign that the world
is not as the God of justice intends it to be, a sign that the
Church will respond to poverty by taking practical measures to help
those who are most in need, but also a sign that we need to ask
deeper questions about the causes of poverty . . . in our
country".
Last year, the Trussell Trust, which helps four in ten of the
foodbanks in the UK, fed more than 900,000 people, including more
than 300,000 children. The entire foodbank movement currently can
feed a million people a year.
The President of the Methodist Conference, the Revd Ruth Gee,
asked: "Why are new foodbanks opening every few days, when this is
one of the wealthiest nations in the world?" Supporting foodbanks
was an obvious response, she said, but the need would continue
unless the causes were tackled.
The President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Revd Dr
Chris Ellis, said: "The stories and reflections in the 'Faith in
Foodbanks?' resources challenge us to question the injustices of
systems of power that allow individuals and families to go without
food."
An All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hunger and Food Poverty,
co-chaired by the Bishop of Truro, the Rt Revd Tim Thornton, and
the Labour MP Frank Field, disclosed that it had evidence that
soaring energy and housing costs were the main reasons why the
poorest homes turned to foodbanks. It said that up to 40 per cent
of the income of those households was spent on housing, food, and
fuel - an increase of about nine per cent on the proportion a
decade ago.
www.jointpublicissues.org.uk/faithinfoodbanks