You need to be logged in to your Sky Poker account above to post discussions and comments.
You might need to refresh your page afterwards.
Skint.
Middle class, professional... and forced to feed our families from food banks: They’ve lost their income, used up years of savings, put their homes on the market and even sold off furniture to make ends meet in the pandemic . Now a growing number of white-collar women are reliant on charity
Thousands of Brits began using food banks for the first time earlier this year
Faye Davies Fuller says her household lost 70 per cent income during pandemic
Mum-of-three, 42, claims pride stopped her from going to the food bank herself
Sophia Waterfield, 31, reveals she turned to food banks when savings ran out
Research shows around half of Brits asking for help from food banks this year had never done so before. Mothers reveal the moment they turned to donations because their income had dropped. Faye Davies Fuller, 42, who lives in London, says she lost all of her income and wasn't entitled to any of the grant money the Government gave to sole traders. The mother-of-three admits pride stopped her from going to the food bank herself. Sophia Waterfield, 31, (pictured right) who lives in East Yorkshire, says she turned to food donations when her savings ran out. Pictured left: Faye Davies Fuller with daughters Evie, 15, and ten-year-old Millie.
Returning to her £1.6million London home, Faye Davies Fuller took a minute on the doorstep to compose herself, shielding her three children from her tears.
How on earth had it come to this — being handed food tokens at the Citizens’ Advice Bureau to supplement her measly £54-a-month Universal Credit payment — when, until nine months ago, Faye and her husband, Darren, had a six-figure income between them?
The answer, of course, is the global pandemic, which has taken a devastating toll on countless hard-working people and utterly crushed the live events industry in which Faye, 42, earned her living as a freelance executive producer.
‘I was preparing for a corporate event in Copenhagen at the end of March when Covid brought everything to a standstill,’ recalls Faye. ‘I lost all my income and, being the sole director of my limited company, I wasn’t entitled to any of the grant money the Government gave to sole traders.
Women who've turned to food banks to feed their families, reveal how the pandemic impacted their fiances despite having professional careers. Pictured: Faye Davies Fuller with daughters Evie, 15, and ten-year-old Millie
‘Meanwhile, my husband, an estate agent, was furloughed, which meant his income fell by 20 per cent. As a household, we lost 70 per cent of our income in one fell swoop.
‘As Darren’s income was taken into account when they assessed my claim — despite the fact it nowhere near covers our hefty mortgage, bills and other outgoings — I was only entitled to £54 a month in Universal Credit.’
With their savings all gone — together with the proceeds from selling off any bits of furniture, electronics and clothes the family could live without — and desperate for ways to feed her three kids, Faye turned to her local Citizens’ Advice Bureau for help in August.
She was given the option of either having food parcels delivered or vouchers she could exchange for goods at her local food bank.
Some may struggle to sympathise with the plight of a family who have long been so fortunate — especially when many thousands of others, already struggling to make ends meet, have had their lives utterly destroyed by the pandemic. Faye is keenly aware of this.
‘I felt so ashamed that it had come to this,’ she says.
‘I couldn’t bear the thought of someone from a less affluent area, or a smaller house, turning up at my front door with provisions and thinking: “What the **** are they doing asking for food parcels when they live in this massive house?”,’ says Faye.
‘And pride wouldn’t allow me to go to the food bank myself. I imagined people looking at me and thinking: “She doesn’t need to be here!”’ So she turned down the food bank vouchers she was offered.
‘Still, I really didn’t know how we would manage without this help.
‘Fortunately, when I mentioned my fears to a friend, it turned out her mum volunteered at a nearby food bank and she has packed a bag and delivered it to me, without shame or fanfare, every week since.’
Admittedly, it’s a far cry from the homemade crab ravioli and Goan fish curries the family love.
‘It might not be the kind of food we’d have eaten in the past but it contains all the pantry basics — rice, pasta, tuna, beans — from which you can always make something,’ says Faye. ‘I try to make it into a game with the children, saying: “Let’s see what’s in the bags this week and what we can create from it.”’
The startling reversal of the family’s fortunes illustrates the sweeping and indiscriminate economic devastation wrought by the pandemic.
Back in spring, around half of those asking for help from food banks, an additional 100,000 people, had never done so before, say those who run the 2,000-plus facilities in the UK.
Anti-poverty charity Trussell Trust run 1,200 food banks while the rest are independently managed, often by local churches and charities.
Sophia Waterfield, 31, a freelance writer, who lives in a market town near Beverley, East Yorkshire, ran out of savings in June. Pictured: Sophia Waterfield and her two-year-old son Amyas
Lowri Williams, 49, has been getting by on Universal Credit, child benefit and child maintenance from her ex. Pictured: A food bank
Sophia who has gone from earning around £2,000 a month to very little, said there's a stigma that those who use food banks must be 'poor'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9011057/Middle-class-professional-forced-feed-families-food-banks.html
Thousands of Brits began using food banks for the first time earlier this year
Faye Davies Fuller says her household lost 70 per cent income during pandemic
Mum-of-three, 42, claims pride stopped her from going to the food bank herself
Sophia Waterfield, 31, reveals she turned to food banks when savings ran out
Research shows around half of Brits asking for help from food banks this year had never done so before. Mothers reveal the moment they turned to donations because their income had dropped. Faye Davies Fuller, 42, who lives in London, says she lost all of her income and wasn't entitled to any of the grant money the Government gave to sole traders. The mother-of-three admits pride stopped her from going to the food bank herself. Sophia Waterfield, 31, (pictured right) who lives in East Yorkshire, says she turned to food donations when her savings ran out. Pictured left: Faye Davies Fuller with daughters Evie, 15, and ten-year-old Millie.
Returning to her £1.6million London home, Faye Davies Fuller took a minute on the doorstep to compose herself, shielding her three children from her tears.
How on earth had it come to this — being handed food tokens at the Citizens’ Advice Bureau to supplement her measly £54-a-month Universal Credit payment — when, until nine months ago, Faye and her husband, Darren, had a six-figure income between them?
The answer, of course, is the global pandemic, which has taken a devastating toll on countless hard-working people and utterly crushed the live events industry in which Faye, 42, earned her living as a freelance executive producer.
‘I was preparing for a corporate event in Copenhagen at the end of March when Covid brought everything to a standstill,’ recalls Faye. ‘I lost all my income and, being the sole director of my limited company, I wasn’t entitled to any of the grant money the Government gave to sole traders.
Women who've turned to food banks to feed their families, reveal how the pandemic impacted their fiances despite having professional careers. Pictured: Faye Davies Fuller with daughters Evie, 15, and ten-year-old Millie
‘Meanwhile, my husband, an estate agent, was furloughed, which meant his income fell by 20 per cent. As a household, we lost 70 per cent of our income in one fell swoop.
‘As Darren’s income was taken into account when they assessed my claim — despite the fact it nowhere near covers our hefty mortgage, bills and other outgoings — I was only entitled to £54 a month in Universal Credit.’
With their savings all gone — together with the proceeds from selling off any bits of furniture, electronics and clothes the family could live without — and desperate for ways to feed her three kids, Faye turned to her local Citizens’ Advice Bureau for help in August.
She was given the option of either having food parcels delivered or vouchers she could exchange for goods at her local food bank.
Some may struggle to sympathise with the plight of a family who have long been so fortunate — especially when many thousands of others, already struggling to make ends meet, have had their lives utterly destroyed by the pandemic. Faye is keenly aware of this.
‘I felt so ashamed that it had come to this,’ she says.
‘I couldn’t bear the thought of someone from a less affluent area, or a smaller house, turning up at my front door with provisions and thinking: “What the **** are they doing asking for food parcels when they live in this massive house?”,’ says Faye.
‘And pride wouldn’t allow me to go to the food bank myself. I imagined people looking at me and thinking: “She doesn’t need to be here!”’ So she turned down the food bank vouchers she was offered.
‘Still, I really didn’t know how we would manage without this help.
‘Fortunately, when I mentioned my fears to a friend, it turned out her mum volunteered at a nearby food bank and she has packed a bag and delivered it to me, without shame or fanfare, every week since.’
Admittedly, it’s a far cry from the homemade crab ravioli and Goan fish curries the family love.
‘It might not be the kind of food we’d have eaten in the past but it contains all the pantry basics — rice, pasta, tuna, beans — from which you can always make something,’ says Faye. ‘I try to make it into a game with the children, saying: “Let’s see what’s in the bags this week and what we can create from it.”’
The startling reversal of the family’s fortunes illustrates the sweeping and indiscriminate economic devastation wrought by the pandemic.
Back in spring, around half of those asking for help from food banks, an additional 100,000 people, had never done so before, say those who run the 2,000-plus facilities in the UK.
Anti-poverty charity Trussell Trust run 1,200 food banks while the rest are independently managed, often by local churches and charities.
Sophia Waterfield, 31, a freelance writer, who lives in a market town near Beverley, East Yorkshire, ran out of savings in June. Pictured: Sophia Waterfield and her two-year-old son Amyas
Lowri Williams, 49, has been getting by on Universal Credit, child benefit and child maintenance from her ex. Pictured: A food bank
Sophia who has gone from earning around £2,000 a month to very little, said there's a stigma that those who use food banks must be 'poor'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9011057/Middle-class-professional-forced-feed-families-food-banks.html