60 Islanders a month depend on food handouts

Tuesday 08 November 2016

A new report has painted a detailed picture of the Islanders who are relying on food banks in order to survive each month.

It says that 60 Islanders a month used one of the main three food banks in the first three months of this years; 60% were men, half between the ages of 35 and 54, they were mainly single and most didn't have any children. 50% were born here and the majority have lived in the Island for more than ten years.

Almost a third said a long-term health condition was one of the main reasons for visiting the food banks while just over a quarter said it was because of a cut in benefits.

The report has been published by the Housing Minister, Deputy Anne Pryke, who said: “We have a long history of charitable support in Jersey but what we have not been so good at doing is using this contact with the community to help us build a more detailed picture of the individuals who are receiving this support. This is valuable in terms of our ongoing policy development but it also helps the organisations who are providing the assistance. It allows them to identify vulnerable groups and point those people towards support services.

“The results of this pilot study have been extremely interesting and have provided a valuable source of data – but this is just the beginning. If we are to identify underlying issues and meaningful trends among this group of users, we will need to continue with this work on an annual basis. Our challenge now is to capitalise on this very promising start and build a body of data that can inform the ongoing work of Government.”

The Grace Trust, St Helier Methodist Centre and St Vincent de Paul all took part in the study, asking everyone who came to the foodbank during the first quarter of this year to fill in the survey anonymously.