London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 19, 2025

Cost of living: Food bank shame drives needy away - study

Cost of living: Food bank shame drives needy away - study

Rules around food banks are driving some people away from asking for help because of the "sense of shame", new research suggests.

Cardiff University found that having to prove you are struggling to get a voucher for food creates more stigma.

Dr Andrew Williams said those in close-knit communities were more worried about what people thought, and likely to wait until "absolutely desperate".

It comes as communities say they are turning inwards to support each other.

In the year to March 2022, the Trussell Trust gave out 131,232 emergency food parcels in Wales, part of 2.1 million across the UK.

"I've spoken to people who were afraid to ask for a voucher from social services," said Dr Williams, who argued that community food hubs would have less stigma.

Dr Williams has been studying food banks since 2014, and has interviewed more than 100 volunteers and users.

"I've spoken to people who have walked 12 miles to go to a different town," says Dr Andrew Williams of Cardiff University


He said they were "designed as a short-term gap before the benefits system would kick in" but said the system has "an unwritten, unspoken sense of shame".

"I've spoken to people who have walked 12 miles to go to a different town so they would not get a food parcel from their children's teacher who works at the food bank," he said.

He said that in close communities "everyone knows each others' business and there is a reluctance to out yourself as struggling".

Research published in the Journal of Poverty and Social Justice also found some people who had used food banks used words like "awkward", "embarrassed", "worthless", and "uncomfortable".


'It felt cap in hand'
Tracy Murphy says her husband felt "embarrassed" using a food bank and now grows her own produce


Tracy Murphy has lived in Aberfan for most of her life and when her husband could no longer work because of his ill health, her family had to turn to a food bank for help.

"My husband went to the church [to get a voucher] and he did feel embarrassed," she said.

"It's the stigma attached to it that we got that low that we had to rely on free food.

"It's just proudness, I suppose, wanting to stand on your own two feet.

"We'd never had to rely on anything like that in the past, it was a new experience and just felt a bit cap in hand, I suppose".

She is now a full-time carer for her husband, and has become involved with a local group, H Factor, which is setting up a food pantry where anyone living locally can buy food at low prices.

It will take over the delivery of half-price fresh fruit and vegetables from Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association and start growing food in the community garden, Afon Gwreiddau.

Lynne Colston works with a team of 20 to offer discrete support to people in Aberfan


H Factory organiser Lynne Colston, who works alongside a staff of 20, has already taken over the running of the local hotel for the community and the new food pantry will be based in its former garage, for discreet visits.

"We are trying to get rid of the stigma of going to a food bank and to make everything that we grow available to people on a reduced cost," she said.


'The poor are now working'


She added that people needing support were not necessarily who you would think.

"I don't think we know who the poorest are anymore. We have assumed the poor are people on benefits and we know that the poor are now people who are working," she said.

At home, Ms Murphy has tried her best to support herself and others where she can.

She had a small garden to grow vegetables and has 40 hens providing free eggs for the community.

She said: "I love it, I love it, we should all do a bit really, it's good for the environment and good for the bees."

She is now setting up egg production for the community with 40 hens.

Lowri Farnham, of H Factor's Afon Gwreiddiau garden, says people should not feel shame at using food banks


At the community garden in Aberfan, Afon Gwreiddau, they have already started selling the fresh produce they grow to local people, with the plan to expand into two more polytunnels.

Team leader Lynne Farnham said it "will be a mass abundance of food for the community in the form of food boxes".

"They shouldn't feel shame, but there is that stigma going into a food bank.

"So coming here, where everyone is free to come whatever background you come from, whatever your income, is based on is a really calm way of collecting your food," she said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
×