‘Food club is our life saver ahead of bill hikes’

A couple who use a food club to get by have described it as a “life-saver” but said they have concerns about how they will cope after household bills are hiked up in April.

Dubbed the “awful April” by some political commentators, next month will see some of the biggest increases to people’s finances in the UK, with rises in water, energy, and council tax costs.

Debra and Steven Burke, who live in Little Hulton, Salford, are members of The Bread and Butter Thing, a charity which supplies supermarket surplus food at a reduced price.

Mrs Burke, 64, has worked her whole life but said they rely on the service so they can afford their utility bills.

“I don’t know how we’ll manage but this is a life-saver,” she said.

For £8.50, Mrs Burke said she can collect three bags of food, which means she has more money to “spend on my heating”.

She admitted she was not keen to use the mobile service at first but, when she witnessed others using it, her “shame and embarrassment” went away.

“It’s not shameful to need help,” she said.

The Bread and Butter Thing, founded by Mark Game in 2016, is based at St Peter’s Church in Salford once a week.

Mr Game said low-earning working families are a “growing demographic” of people who are “struggling to get by”.

He said: “They will hide it from their colleagues and hide it from their kids.

“They will start to have smaller portions on their plate, or have fewer showers and try to shield their family from it.”

And he warned prices rises will only “increase the struggle”.

More than seven million United Utilities customers across north-west England will see their water bills jump by an average of £86 for a typical household.

The cost of gas and electricity is also going up when the latest energy price cap takes effect.

Many will also pay almost 5% more in council tax.

David Ogden, 41, is a data analyst and lives with his wife in Little Hulton.

The couple both work full time but they too use the Bread and Butter Thing.

“We get by day to day but every month there is some kind of struggle going on,” he said.

Being able to use the food club is “pretty essential”, he says, but admits that at first he felt “sheepish” about using it.

“We all know there’s a stigma around using things like food banks, but then you see the benefit, and now I don’t feel embarrassed, it’s a brilliant thing.”