Matt and Debbie* and their three children are in crisis. They are crippled by debt, and Matt has just lost his job. His benefits will take time to be paid and even these will not service his debts. Where on earth are they going to find money to eat?
This is a true and oft-repeated story. There are still 12.4 million people living in poverty in the UK and increasing consumerism and debt is dividing the nation. Almost every community has its areas of social exclusion and deprivation. The church’s response to local poverty has been patchy, and often uncoordinated. Social action was once central to church mission but most find Jesus’s words in Matthew 25.35-40 a difficult challenge.
The Food Bank
However, a project that has attracted a good deal of attention, earning the support not only of local communities, but also of organisations such as Faithworks and Christians Against Poverty (CAP), is the Food Bank project. Pioneered in Salisbury by a small Christian charity, it has united churches and the community to provide a practical and immediate response to people in crisis going hungry. The Trussell Trust has not only mobilised the support of 70 churches locally, but over the last two years has also successfully replicated food banks in ten other towns across the UK, the latest in Poole, bringing welcome relief to thousands of people in crisis.
