The country is facing a severe cost of living crisis leaving many facing hardship they never thought they would experience.
Rising energy bills, stagnant wages and soaring food and fuel prices all mean that many families will be faced with tough decisions of whether to heat or eat.
The Brandlesholme Community Centre is a key community hub whose volunteers hear stories of hardship from families in need of extra support.
The Manchester Evening News spent two days at the food bank speaking to volunteers and those supported by the hub.
Phil had gone into the food bank alone for the first time. Every other time, he’d been joined by his mum.
He admits that for years he was ‘too proud’ to ask for help - or to even acknowledge that he needed it.
“I still think there’s a stigma that you can’t look after yourself,” he said. He says that there will be people out there struggling in silence.
“I know that because I did it myself,” he said.
Phil and his family have had an incredibly tough few years. He was driving for an airport transport company, but the pandemic meant it was put out of business.
Phil was left with a mortgage to pay and not enough money to pay it.
His parents stepped in, but now they need his help.
His mum has been diagnosed with bowel cancer and his dad has dementia. He cares for them both.
“If I had to buy food for myself and them I couldn’t manage,” he said.
That’s where the food bank comes in.
Phil gets £60 a week for caring for his dad and drives special education needs kids on the school run.
“I can't do any more than that. That’s the maximum amount I can do," he said.
“Where can I make any more [money] but look after them at the same time?”
Phil feels the cost of everything. Mortgage repayments, diesel for his taxi, household bills.
“I feel like going back in time and buying coal just to keep warm,” he said.
“I can just about manage for myself but I do know that my mum and dad struggle with food, especially when they’ve been paying my bills,” Phil said, as he collects his mum’s shopping list from the community centre.
Gemma, a support worker, lost her job on Christmas Eve. She’s still waiting for her first full payment from Universal Credit.
Her partner, Damian, was between jobs when Covid hit. He’d been working hard for 10 years, but the job he was supposed to start never materialised, and he couldn’t get furlough.
“If it wasn’t for these guys we would have given up,” Gemma said.
She said she lost her job after taking two ‘unauthorised absences’. One to put her cat to sleep, the other because she had an asthma attack.
“I’m looking for a job now and I won’t give up. But these are just an absolute lifeline,” she said.
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