Michelle Dornelly says she wasn’t going to leave hungry people in her community waiting all weekend to get needed groceries. Dornelly is the CEO and founder of Children with Voices and Hackney Community Food Hub, a mobile food bank in London that operates in various community venues. The hub remained open on Monday despite the national holiday for the queen’s funeral. “It’s extremely sad, you know, and our thoughts go out to the Queen and her family and … others who have also lost loved ones this month,” Dornelli told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. “But the Queen supported what we did… so I know she would be extremely happy for us to continue to feed the vulnerable, the needy and the underprivileged today. So for me, it was something we just had to do.”
Many food banks are closed due to holidays
Some food banks across the UK closed their doors on Monday to observe the holiday – a decision that has drawn criticism from some residents of the country facing a cost of living crisis. Dornelly says the Hackney Community Food Hub had about half as many customers as usual on a Monday because people were largely waiting for it to close. But those who used the service, he says, were extremely grateful. “We did a delivery today and one of our volunteers got feedback from a really lovely … gentleman who was so happy to receive the food. He didn’t think we were coming, seeing as so many other services were closed today,” Dornelly said. “It was amazing. That’s why we do it.” From Cambridge Gate, the procession following Queen Elizabeth’s coffin in the state hearse travels down the Long Walk in Windsor on Monday, making its final journey to Windsor Castle after Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. (Carl Recine/AFP/Getty Images) The Queen’s funeral brought much of the country to a standstill on Monday. The students got the leave from the school. Some hospital appointments and funerals have been postponed. And many private businesses, including supermarkets, closed. The closure of food banks, in particular, prompted a mixed response from Britons online. Some have defended volunteers who want to take a day off to mourn the Queen. Others lamented the closure of essential services at a time when many are struggling to make ends meet. Energy bills for the average UK household have doubled since spring. Food costs are also steep. Milk prices are up more than 33 percent year-on-year, while fruit juices and canned vegetables are up more than 15 percent. Dornelli says people who used the food bank’s services Monday were extremely grateful it was open. (Submitted by Michelle Dornelly) Hackney Community Food Hub only operates Monday to Thursday and Dornelly says she didn’t want to leave people waiting for the long weekend to refill. She is critical of the decision to close so many services. With schools closed, he said, struggling families have extra mouths to feed. Many parents had to miss a day of work or find childcare services, she added. In addition, he worries about the food waste that comes with closed food banks and grocery stories. “We respect and, you know, people respect the Queen, and it’s sad that she’s gone. But … I don’t think that’s how they thought about it,” he said.
“Society is becoming dependent”
The Trussell Trust, a not-for-profit organization that supports a national network of food banks in the UK, says it does not know how many of its members were closed on Monday, but noted that it is “standard practice to be closed on bank holidays when the majority of referral organizations they are also closed.” The organization says each food bank made its own decision about whether to close. “Unfortunately, the pandemic and the cost of living crisis have led to increased needs for food banks as more people struggle to afford essentials such as food. The backlash over the possibility of food banks closing over a bank holiday shows that society is reliant on charitable, voluntary organizations to help people survive, and that’s not right,” the Trussell Trust said in a statement sent via email to its managing director, Emma Revie. “Food banks were established to provide short-term support to people in emergency situations, they are not a permanent solution to hunger and poverty and they should not exist.” Revie says the only way to tackle hunger in the UK “is for the government to make a long-term commitment to support people on the lowest incomes and create a social security system that ensures everyone can afford the essentials in life, like food.” Dornelli called on people to be more generous in these difficult times. “Volunteers need more support, more mental health support. We need money. Volunteers are volunteers, but they also have to pay their bills. They’re also struggling with the cost of living,” she said. “There’s deprivation everywhere. And I wish people would just open their eyes and be a little more compassionate.”
