'I volunteer at a foodbank in Didsbury- and I think I might need it one day too'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Surrounded by tins of carrots, packets of instant noodles and bags of rice, the volunteers at Perry’s Pantry Foodbank in Didsbury wear coats and keep the door open while they pack food parcels.

Anyone is welcome to come inside for a coffee and a chat. The south Manchester foodbank recently shared a desperate plea on Facebook asking for donations, both cash and food, as they had received more referrals due to the cost of living crisis.

This week alone, Perry’s Pantry has had eight new referrals, meaning they now cater to around 50 families a week. However, Tricia Reilly-Hurst, a trustee of Perry’s Pantry Foodbank believes it is only going to get worse, and expects even more referrals as the reality of the cost of the living increases become apparent in April. “It’s only going to get worse from April, it costs us between £500 and £700 a week now to shop because everything has increased in price and you know, it’s not just 10 pence.

There’s been a massive increase.” Read more:'I'm living hand to mouth... they don't care about people like us': What people at Harpurhey Market think about Rishi Sunak's Spring Statement Talking about the realities of foodbank use, Tricia is concerned that she may have to resort to getting a helping hand from one herself as prices continue to rise. “Soon I might have to use a foodbank," she said. "My husband’s hours are being hindered, going down, obviously that reflects in his pay and obviously everything else is going up, and I am looking for more work but I’m getting older, people haven’t got the same vigour they have at 20. “We’re going to be feeding out meters, electric and gas, especially when we come into next November when it goes up again, I think that’s when people will have just had