Food insecurity in Hartcliffe 'significantly worse' due to pandemic
Report by Max Walsh
Food insecurity in Hartcliffe has been made 'significantly worse' due to the pandemic, says Bristol charity 'Heart of BS13'.
It comes after a report published by the Food Foundation found the number of households struggling to eat properly remains higher than pre-Covid levels, affecting an estimated 4.7 million adults in the UK.
Jen Liggitt, who lives in Hartcliffe, lost her job in the hospitality industry during the pandemic and missed out on the Government's furlough scheme. She had to turn to a foodbank to ensure her three children had enough to eat.
Jen said: "With everything that's been going on in my life over the last two years I've struggled with anxiety and depression. That manifests itself with food a lot of the time and not being able to cook and eat properly."
Jen is now juggling night shifts in the supermarket and working in a gym to help support her family. But she says it has been difficult with her three children constantly in and out of self isolation.
Jen said: "Sometimes I have an income and sometimes I don't. It is so up and down. You can get quite down and depressed about food sometimes especially as a mum. It becomes very stressful."
Even before the pandemic residents in Hartcliffe had a challenge to eat healthily. In 2018 research found two of the country's most deprived food deserts were in Bristol - Hartcliffe was the second worst, while nearby Withywood was fourth.
Food deserts have two or fewer supermarkets for every 15,000 people, where average areas have about five. But with residents having been urged to stay home for so long and concerns about the virus one local charity says there are now even more households affected by food insecurity.
Jodie Smith, the Food Insecurity Program Lead for Heart of BS13, said: "It's become significantly worse (since the pandemic).
"Not only people who are on low incomes but also middle income families. The pandemic has plunged them into a financial crisis."
Heart of BS13 has been handing out free healthy meals for more than a year from their kitchen at The Gatehouse Centre in Hartcliffe. At its height, The Real Meal Store was delivering 1,000 meals a week and dozens of households in the area still rely on the service.
Many of the ingredients of The Real Meal Store dinners are grown locally at a nearby allotment.
The charity is now inviting people to help fund the project by buying the high-quality meals in a 'pay-it-forward' scheme which will help support a household of four people.
Jen Liggitt says the meals "have been a godsend" and something the children enjoy. But she knows it may still be some time before she can solely provide her family with healthy food once again.
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