On Wednesday, July 5, 2023, on behalf of our charity Campaign Against Poverty (CAP), I donated food items to a food bank in Loughborough, UK, where I am based.

Those living in a place like my native Ghana may be surprised to learn there are Foodbanks in a place like the UK. It is no secret that many residents in a developing country such as Ghana consider the Western world a paradise on earth, an area flowing with milk and honey.  

The bitter reality, however, is that, though a tiny minority, there are indeed residents in rich countries such as the UK who struggle to make ends meet.

Most developed countries have a generous benefits system to care for the very impoverished. Notwithstanding such social welfare provisions, some affected struggle to meet their bare ends.

Their precarious situation has been worsened by the ongoing global cost of living crisis brought about by events such as Climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, etc.

In the UK, several food banks have been set up by charitable organizations to cater for such groups of people.

CAP  assigned me to donate  food items to the Loughborough Area Foodbank operated by the New Life Community Church. 

In a  small talk I had with Jules, the Food bank Administrator following the donation,  he pointed to the increasing number of those resorting to their food banks.

“Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we supported only 14 individuals and families. Now we are dealing with 100 referrals.”, he stated.

I asked him to explain what he meant by referrals, to which he stated:

“To avoid a rush on our facilities by the needy, we ask them first to contact agencies whose contacts are on our website. After assessing their needs, the agencies then refer them to us. We then supply to them indefinitely, at regular time intervals.”

Before I left the premises, he took me around their storehouse.

“As already stated, the demand on our Food Bank by the needy is increasing. Our storehouse has become too small to cope with the increased demand; we are looking to,” he revealed.

The meeting gave me food for thought and brought home even more powerfully to me the need for society to take all the necessary steps to alleviate poverty. Of course, it is utopist to think humanity can completely eradicate poverty from the earth’s surface. Notwithstanding the awareness of this bitter reality, our shared humanity calls on us to do whatever it takes to lessen the burden poverty and deprivation place on a sizable percentage of the world population. 

Whoever wishes to support Campaign Against Poverty in our humble endeavours may please donate to our cause.