On the Breadline: ‘It shouldn’t be like this… kids should have the food they need’

Charlene Richardson, a mother of two, said she was constantly watching her electricity and switching off items at the plugs. “We have gone back to survival of the fittest,” she said. “It makes you wonder — are we actually going to be living through apocalyptic times where people who have electricity are going to be higher up in society?

Charlene was speaking at Loughborough Community Centre in south London where low-income parents come for meal support and childcare — and an opportunity to open up about the harsh realities besieging them in the cost-of-living crisis.

The charity is one that will be eligible to benefit from our On the Breadline Christmas campaign, in partnership with the Childhood Trust.

“The biggest thing for me is how much food is costing,” mother-of-two Kenosha Smith, pictured below, said. “My shopping bill is going up every month. Food is never something I’ve had to worry about before but now it’s the big worry for me.”

LCC director Candice James BEM said that the group had weathered Covid but had never seen anything like the current crisis. “Everything has been exhausted,” she said. “This hardship doesn’t seem to have any expiry.

“There is nothing to look forward to in the near future… Part of our role is to give hope to families that things will get better, but we’re not seeing from where support will come. I see few solutions.”

Ms James said the difficulty of the cost-of-living crisis has extended to her own staff who are also struggling, with some in need of the LCC’s services to get by. “My staff are not paid enough to survive the rising prices,” she said.

In Lambeth, 39 per cent of children were living in poverty in 2020/21 — above the London average. Meanwhile, more than one in four adults in Lambeth are in poverty, with the borough among the 20 poorest areas in the UK.

The crisis isn’t limited to single-parent households or families on income support — couples are also feeling the squeeze. Husband-and-wife Raymond and Tola Scott, who have two children aged eight and 10, say they have been forced to consider moving out of London because of rising costs.

“It happens around food — my children get upset and I get frustrated,” early years support worker Tola said. “I have to raise my voice and it shouldn’t be like this. They’re children, they should enjoy food. They should have all they need.”

The families we spoke to said that government support was hardly putting a dent in soaring bills, but there was consensus that LCC was helping them with emotional and physical needs, while connecting them to a community who could help and support each other. They said that any additional support from our fund was desperately needed.

Ms James said: “We’re on the front line, yet again. It’s easy to forget that community groups are those anchor spaces that connect those most vulnerable to services and what they need. If we want children to thrive and do well, we have to work with their families too.”