Estelle O'Brien never expected to need to use a food bank. The 45-year-old, from south London, has always worked full-time, weaving the everyday complexities of raising two young children around her busy career. But after being made redundant twice, around 18 months ago she found herself struggling to make ends meet. Her neighbour, who volunteered at a community food bank, told her she could find some help just around the corner by rescuing food that would otherwise go to waste. When she showed up, she was 'shocked' at the number of people she knew who were also struggling.
'You'd be surprised at how many people you actually know that are coming to use these food banks,' she said. 'People that you would never think would need to use a food bank, you see coming in. I see lots of people who I know work full-time here.'
'I never thought I'd be affected with the cost of living prices, but with everything going up, including petrol, it's nice to come down here and get a little bit of help on your shopping bill,' she continued. 'It's a real weight lifted.' Now back in full-time work at a large tech company, Ms O'Brien said she can still find it hard to afford her shopping some weeks. She still uses the service, but also volunteers there to help transform others' lives the way it helped her.
She is one of dozens of people gathered at a small community centre in Rotherhithe on a stifling Friday afternoon. Outside, the tables are piled high with crimson tomatoes, ripened avocados, potatoes, carrots, peppers, apples, oranges, strawberries, and bunches of parsley strung together. As a steady stream of hands fill up trollies and shopping bags under the leafy canopy lining the entrance, familiar faces find each other with smiles. The whole picture gives the distinct impression of a farmer's market in a quaint English town.
Inside, volunteers hand out giant catering-sized boxes of chicken, chickpea salads, sandwich fillings, tomato salsa, dried noodles and supermarket branded bags of oats and cereal. All of this food, once destined for cafes, restaurants, or supermarket shelves, could have instead gone straight in the bin. Because of the determination of one charity, it is here, going directly into the hands of those who need it most.
Felix is the UK's largest food redistribution charity, working with supermarkets, wholesalers, and community partners across the country to simultaneously tackle food insecurity and waste. Named after 14-year-old Felix Byam-Shaw, who died tragically of meningitis in 2014, the charity has been serving communities like this one in London since 2016. Following a recent merger with national charity FareShare, Felix's operations are now nationwide, and reaching an estimated 1.5 million people each year.
The charity say demand is soaring, especially since the start of the Iran war in February. A recent survey of their partners found 41 per cent said demand is on the rise, and 13 per cent had seen requests double over the last year. In the 18 months since Ms O'Brien began using the food bank, she believes demand has 'definitely increased'. 'You see people that come in, and they really, really are in need of food,' she said. 'They're really grateful for whatever you can give them. We had one lady come down, and she'd been kicked out of her property. She'd had no food whatsoever, and we gave her some food, and she started crying.'
'She was going, 'I'm really sorry that I'm having to use this'. And I told her, 'But I use it. It's fine. We all use it'. It's normal now to come to food banks.'
The charity's partner here is Rotherhithe Community Kitchen (RCK), a local initiative founded in November 2023 by resident Vimal Pandya. The idea, he says, is not just to hand people food, but to give them a community space where they can learn about eating nutritiously in a social and non-judgemental environment. Unlike some other food banks which require a referral, anyone is welcome to turn up at RCK, no questions asked. 'It's not just for anyone on benefits. They don't judge you here,' Ms O'Brien said. 'You've not got to show or prove anything. Everyone's welcome in, so it's a real community feel.'
Volunteer Natalia Pasynok, who lives in Rotherhithe, has been lending her time to the kitchen for around a year. Her 14-year-old son has a genetic disorder and is autistic, and she knows first-hand how services like this can become a lifeline for many who are disabled or have additional needs. 'I've been letting all different special needs communities know about this food bank, and they are all incredibly grateful because these families, they have expenses that maybe other families without children with special needs don't have,' she explained. 'There's a lot of demand and a lot of people are very grateful for this opportunity, and it's very easy to access.'
Khalil Mohammed, 53, has been volunteering at the kitchen for around two years. He said he sees 'all corners of the community' queueing up at the food bank each week. He added there has been a 'huge increase' over the last year, going from around 600 people on the distribution list last year to over 1,000 now. 'People are struggling,' he said. 'They have families to feed. There's actually no fixed background of the persons, the people that we serve.'
Despite this, the volunteers here know many can still wrestle with feelings of shame and stigma attached to using a food bank. They want people to know their service is 'open to everyone'. 'We don't look at backgrounds, we don't look at the need, we just basically welcome everyone to come and take the food,' Mr Mohammed said. 'We'd rather the food gets used, we'd rather have zero waste. That's the whole mantra behind the charity itself, that we want to get the food used and provided for the people that need it.'
