‘I thought I couldn’t use food banks — but I made the same mistake as lots of other mums’

Food support services are struggling to keep up with rising demand as more families seek help amid the cost of living crisis.

For Izzy O’Brien, 23, from Nechells, Birmingham, that support became a lifeline when she found herself struggling to put food on the table.

The mum, who works part-time while raising her young son Finn, turned to a local food pantry after the cost of living crisis and a relationship breakdown left her struggling to make ends meet.

Her story comes as new research from food rescue charity Felix found UK charities are struggling to stay afloat amid increasing demand. A survey of more than 2,700 charities found 32% would have to close their food service without rescued food, while 52% would need to scale back the support they currently offer.

For Izzy, the pressure began as living costs continued to rise before her son’s father left when Finn was just seven months old.

“You know what, it actually started with the cost of living going up and everything, and then when I had my son and his dad left around seven months,” she told the Mirror

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At the time, Izzy was working just one shift a week because she wanted to spend as much time with her son as possible. But suddenly facing life as a single parent meant the money was no longer enough.

“I was really, really struggling when he first left,” she said. “I had to get on Universal Credit that was going to take a few weeks to even come through, so I had to get an advance payment. The first few months I was just trying to pay that off, and I really, really did rely on, on the pantry.”

Like many working families under pressure, Izzy initially did not realise support was available to people in employment. She said: “I didn’t even think I could use it because I was a worker. I thought, oh, workers can’t use that.”

The support comes through Nechells POD, a community pantry supplied by Felix, which rescues surplus food from businesses and redistributes it to charities and community organisations across the UK.

New research from Felix found demand is continuing to rise, with 41% of organisations receiving food through the charity reporting an increase over the past year and a further 13% saying demand had more than doubled.

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The support helped not only Izzy and Finn, but her wider household after she moved back in with her parents because of financial pressures.

“I am very fortunate that I have my mom and dad,” she said. “But even they’re struggling with the cost of living right now, and they both work, so It helped the whole household being able to go to the pantry, pay £5 and get £20 worth of shopping.”

Although she was nervous about using the pantry at first, Izzy said she quickly realised she was far from alone.

“At first, before I got there, I was very nervous. But then when I got there and I seen that most of the community were there – everyone I knew was there, and I’m thinking we’re all in it together, we’re all struggling right now.”

The findings come as Felix warned many charities could be forced to reduce services without access to redistributed surplus food, with more than eight in 10 organisations saying their support would be at risk without it.

The pantry membership has since increased from £3 to £5, but Izzy said it still provides vital support when money is stretched. She currently works around 16 hours a week on minimum wage while receiving Universal Credit, but says every month remains a balancing act.

She said: “This week is going to be a little bit tough, and next week, two weeks till payday, and I’ve got £30 in the account.”

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At times, that has meant making sacrifices herself, “sometimes I’d get food for my son and I wouldn’t eat.”

Despite the challenges, Izzy is determined her son will not feel the impact.

“I never ever let my son feel it,” she said. “He never knows. He’ll never go without.”

For Izzy, the support she received was about far more than food, “I think I would have fell into a big depression if I didn’t have the support and have the pantry to fall back on,” she said.

“Back then I thought I was alone, I thought I was the only person struggling, when actually there’s loads of people struggling. I thought I was failing working and still struggling, but a lot of people around the whole of the UK are struggling right now, even people that do work.”

Now, Izzy continues to volunteer at a local youth club, helping children with rock climbing sessions while raising Finn and giving back to the same community that supported her through some of her most difficult moments.

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Reflecting on the impossible choices many parents face, she said: “You kind of have to decide, do I want more money that I have to work completely for, and that means time away from my son, or meet in the middle where I work the 16 hours and I still have time for him?”

“I’d rather go without than let him go without.”