'We've become a fourth emergency service in many ways'

Foodbanks are busier than ever and health is suffering as the cost of living crisis continues to bite. Helena Vesty reports

- Helena Vesty

A 17-YEAR-OLD boy living on his own in a Salford flat, a 51-year-old homeless man staying on his friend’s sofa after a four-month

hospital stint, a traumatised mum-of-two fleeing domestic violence with her young children.

They all have one thing in common – they’re in dire straits, they’re hungry, and it’s taking a toll.

They share their worries of losing weight fast, that their mental health has taken a nosedive, and that they’re getting dizzy and being hit by serious infections.

It’s a sunny morning. In years gone by, the food bank in which the teenage boy, man, and woman sit waiting for help would be quiet, with people choosing instead to enjoy a rare day of fine weather.

But those times are over, as the food bank’s volunteers say summer days are just as busy as ever – and only getting busier as the cost-of-living crisis rages on.

And those on the frontline say the struggle to afford a basic shop is having a terrifying impact on the health of families across Greater Manchester, which comes as Victorian diseases thought to be dormant have made a nightmarish return.

Data shows that conditions such as rickets and malnutrition – associated with the lack of a healthy, balanced diet – are on the rise in the region.

A health crisis has been slowly building in the UK as a result of poor quality diets, according to the UK charity the Food Foundation, and those diets are directly influenced by people’s financial circumstances.

There were already substantial inequalities in the nutritional value of food eaten by families across the country that long pre-date the cost-of-living crisis, said the group.

Government data from 2016 to 2019 indicates that people on lower incomes are more likely to have diets lower in fibre, fruit, vegetables and oily fish in comparison to higher earners – all of which are dietary patterns that can have a vastly negative impact on health.