Fifteen years of helping highlights poverty in Alton

Next month will see the 15th anniversary of the opening of the Alton Foodbank.

And the need for it remains significant - in the 2025-26 financial year it supported 2,027 people, with 789 of them being children.

Alton Foodbank project manager Sian Mills had mixed feelings about its existence but preferred to focus on the positives.

She said: “We held an open day in June to celebrate 15 years of the foodbank - somewhat a double-edged sword to celebrate, as it means we have been needed to help those who cannot afford food for 15 years.

“On the flip side, we have been supported very generously by the local community in our aim of helping those people who need to use the foodbank.”

Statistics from the first and latest full years of the foodbank show how much the need has risen.

In 2012 it fed 158 households, consisting of 446 people of which 197 were children, but in 2025 it fed 794 households, consisting of 1,998 people of which 754 were children - a 448 per cent increase in demand.

Sian said: “We have volunteers with us who were involved in setting up the foodbank. Anecdotally they tell me that we are much busier than when it first opened.

“The system we operate now is different from when it was first open due to the increased use and the need we have seen. This is borne out by the figures.”

The busiest year was the Covid year of 2020, when the foodbank fed 795 households, totalling 2,615 people of which 1,316 were children.

Sian said: “Due to Covid we adopted a delivery only method and supported some of the most vulnerable families who were unable to access free school meals or other support.

“That is still our busiest ever year to date - we were twice as busy in 2020 as in 2019, and two and a half times busier than in 2018. The use has never reverted to pre-Covid figures.”

The contrast between the periods before and after Covid is stark. In the foodbank’s first eight full years, from 2012 to 2019, it fed an average of 900 people per year. In the six years from 2020 to 2025 that figure had leapt to 2,294 people - a rise of 255 per cent.

Steve Hannington, the debt centre manager for the Alton branch of the national charity Christians Against Poverty, highlighted the financial pressures that led to the foundation of the foodbank.

He said the charity’s client survey found that 22 per cent of adults in the UK were living on a deficit budget - they could not afford basic needs such as food, housing and energy.

Of the charity’s clients, 47 per cent had a deficit budget, needing an average of £273 more per month to break even.

Sian explained that the Alton Foodbank was also branching out into the financial side of assistance.

She said: “Alongside emergency food, the charity is increasingly focused on helping people move beyond crisis.

“Through our foodbank-funded Citizens Advice worker, clients are helped to maximise income, reduce outgoings and build a more stable future.

“The advice worker works on a dedicated basis with foodbank clients, able to give them quality time to provide the help they need.

“In the last financial year, this support helped clients gain or save over £102,000, making a tangible difference to people’s lives.”

Case studies show the impact that the Alton Foodbank has made.

In one instance a vulnerable client came into the foodbank facing serious financial and housing difficulties.

Through its dedicated foodbank Citizens Advice worker they received an emergency payment to secure accommodation and financial advice that significantly reduced their monthly outgoings.

This foodbank-funded support enabled this household to secure a new home, regain stability and start rebuilding their life.

Another example was a family who came to the foodbank after fleeing domestic abuse.

They were offered food and a conversation about receiving extra support from Citizens Advice after struggling financially for a long time because of the former partner controlling money and limiting what they could spend.

After researching their situation, the foodbank-funded Citizens Advice worker arranged an emergency payment and financial advice to significantly reduce their monthly outgoings.

This foodbank-funded support means this family is now better off financially and has moved towards a more stable situation.

The Alton Foodbank is part of the Trussell anti-poverty charity’s nationwide network of 1,400 foodbanks.

Trussell foodbanks provided more than 284,000 emergency food parcels across south-east England last year, up 53 per cent since before the pandemic and the cost of living crisis.

Helen Barnard, director of policy and research at Trussell, said: “These figures show that too many people across the south-east are still being pushed to the brink.

“Even as we gain hope from people getting back on their feet, we cannot lose sight of the heartbreaking injustice that such shocking numbers of people are still trapped in the grip of severe hardship.

“We cannot stop until everyone has enough to afford the essentials and we can end the need for foodbanks for good.”

But while it is there, the Alton Foodbank - founded by members of what is now the Hope Church, who were shocked to learn local people were going without food - is hugely appreciated by those who use it, with household essentials, school uniform items and a listening ear also available.

One client said: “Thank you to the foodbank - you’ve made life worth living again.”

And another added: “You are all so kind and have helped me exponentially.”