Youth Concern Launches Aylesbury’s First Youth Food Bank

Food inflation has hit a record high of 16.4% in the 12 months to October 2022. The price of basic foods like milk, cheese and eggs has risen by more than 27% compared with a year earlier.*

The Resolution Foundation, a thinktank that focuses on issues affecting low- and middle-income families, said inflation was hitting the poor hardest. “As lower-income households spend more of their budgets on energy bills and food their effective inflation rate is higher than average” it said.

At Youth Concern we have been seeing the effects of the rising cost of living for many months now. We have experienced a tenfold increase in the number of young people accessing our services; from emotional support to budgeting and benefits advice. And unsurprisingly we have seen the biggest increase in demand for food, both freshly cooked meals at our Drop-In Centre and food and care parcels.

To meet this increasing demand, we are scaling up our offer to become Aylesbury’s first ever Youth Food Bank. This has been made possible with the support of Buckinghamshire Council, Helping Hands, the Thomas Hickman’s Charity, Aylesbury Foodbank and other funders.  Our Youth Food Bank will be staffed Tuesday to Saturday, and we will be offering support in meal planning, food shopping and cooking, as well as food and care parcels.

At the launch of the Youth Food Bank on 28 November, Youth Concern welcomed funders, trustees, local council members and supporters to their Drop-In Centre, where the food bank is based. CEO, Hannah Asquith, welcoming guests said “The unprecedented level of demand we’re experiencing is intrinsically linked to Covid, the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, economic downturns and inflation. This winter will be incredibly difficult for vulnerable and disadvantaged young people in Aylesbury Vale. It’s a tsunami of need. Thank goodness for our funders and supporters who have helped us respond quickly.”

Cllr Steve Lambert, Youth Concern’s Community Ambassador said “Youth Concern, and in particular this initiative, is deeply personal to me as I was a child growing up in food poverty, who would have benefitted greatly from the support of this charity.”

Cllr Dev Dhillon, Chairman Buckinghamshire Council, commented on how sad it was that there is such need for a youth food bank in this day and age. He expressed his gratitude to Youth Concern and all who support the vital work they do.

Guests were moved to hear first-hand the experiences of a local young person who has been supported through tough times including food poverty by Youth Concern.

If you would like to support this initiative, you can donate https://www.givey.com/youthconcern

If you are a young person in food poverty, do use our food bank, open Tuesday to Saturday 12-5pm.