30th April 2021

In a recent thought for the day, Graham asked what the future might look like for us. Last week a report by the Trussell Trust suggested that there may be more hungry people on our doorstep. The number of food parcels that have been distributed by them in our area has more than doubled in the past 5 years and risen sharply during the pandemic.

There are three reasons given for this worrying increase:

• Problems with the benefits system
• Challenging life experiences and ill-health
• Lack of support – including access to debt advice services

We have a good record at Tyndale of supporting our local foodbank and of sharing food informally. But it may be a while before we are doing that in quite the same way. If we have to do things differently, could we offer more support to those in most need by finding out about the problems with the benefits system and lobbying for change? Or by finding our local debt counselling service and training to volunteer? And how best can we support someone who is finding that life is posing greater challenges than they can bear?

Nick Parsons