Gary’s story

Before I came here, I sat for two days with no food and was too embarrassed to come. I nearly came on Friday – I hung around outside for a while and the man who works here asked if I was ok and gave me enough food for me and my son to get through the weekend, until I could come back with a voucher today. I got to the point where I was hungry, so I had to come.

I’m not used to people being nice – people don’t seem as friendly these days. Everyone is so busy doing their own thing and competing, so when I came into the foodbank and everyone was so friendly, it felt a bit odd. Coming here, I’ve just realised this is the longest that I’ve spent speaking to an adult in about a month.

I’ve come here because I’ve had a sanction on my Universal Credit, so I won’t be getting any money until after Christmas. I missed an appointment, so they’ve stopped my payment. I did tell them that I couldn’t make the appointment because I was on a training course to get my HGV licence and hopefully get a job, but they’ve taken it that I’ve missed the appointment and penalised me anyway.

I went self-employed in the March of 2020, and not long after we went into lockdown. I didn’t qualify for furlough so have been on Universal Credit since. I got a tax bill for £3,500 which caused a lot of stress. It’s sorted now, thanks to a lot of phone calls, but it was really stressful.

Me and my son’s mum split up a while ago. He lives with me and she doesn’t contribute to his upkeep, so I’m doing it all on my own. I don’t really have anyone to help out, so I need a job that fits in around looking after my son and makes sure that we have enough. I’ve had to tell him that Christmas won’t be happening this year. I used to have money and go out and do loads of different things. Now I’m at the foodbank. I can’t afford to run my car. I jump the train to get my son to school. It’s unbelievable.

Scroll to Top