IT would seem the only thing keeping hundreds of people from starving in our supposedly affluent society is a happy band of selfless volunteers and fundraisers.

Queues at foodbanks are getting longer, homeless shelters are filled to capacity, increasing numbers of brave volunteers are heading for our streets to provide food and clothing for rough sleepers and the numbers of vulnerable young people in need of rescue from a downward spiral of despair before their lives have even begun are bigger than ever.

It would seem a combination of major changes to the benefits system, growing numbers of families caught in a poverty trap from which they struggle to escape and a society which has produced too many broken and dysfunctional families are behind these growing trends.

Lee Chapel Foodbank in Basildon started in 2012 and has seen a need for its services rocket.

John McKay said: “In January we had 101 people, a third of the numbers we saw in the whole of last year, which was 385.

“We were rammed with food over Christmas. We had a fantastic response from Asda and Waitrose, which the Echo helped us with, individuals and business and the Papworth Trust.

“We didn’t know where we were going to put it all. It was all stacked on top of everything on the shelves.

“But by the middle of January we had empty boxes. Four storage containers full of food and packed on top of each other had all gone.”

Mr McKay said changes to benefits had had a big impact on people “We always hear stories of how people are waiting a long time getting Jobseekers Allowance or Universal Credit. Sometimes it can take six weeks to come through.

People don’t just stop eating for six weeks so they have to come to us.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel in the formof the Essential Living Allowance (ELA) from Essex County Council. With ELA we will be able to feed them and claim funding back.

“Most food banks self-generate funds. Basildon Council won’t fund us and yet they send people to us. There are 17 agencies that send clients to us. We generate our own funds to buy essential food but with ELA we will be able to feed these people and get reimbursed.

“The foodbanks operates from the Lee Chapel North Community Centre. Sometimes agencies will ring me up needing a food parcel so I go and sort them out.”

Mr McKay said school holidays could be a tipping point for families.

He said: “People get caught out in the school holidays, particularly if they are waiting for benefits to come through. We are seeing more and more families needing food.

Stuart Gibbs, from the Storehouse which provides food and support from its foodbank and family centre in Coleman Street, Southend, has managed to stay on an even keel thanks to a large donation.

He said: “We’ve been OK thanks to a large donation from another foodbank in Harlow. We had a big collection come in so we had quite a bit of stuff. The school holidays get busier in terms of demand.

Children don’t get free school meals in the holidays so we expect to see an increase.

“In addition to handing out food we also run a personal development course aimed at getting people getting people back into work.

This is lottery funded so it’s free and is helping the long-term unemployed get back into being employed.”

Syrie Cox, the chief executive officer of Southend YMCA also believes this is a good approach.

She said: “There is a saying which goes something like if you give a man a fish you feed him for the night, but if you teach him how to fish you feed him for life.

“We concentrate on homeless young people. The demand for young people’s housing exceeds supply. We have young people as young as 16 where there has maybe been a breakdown in family relationships.

“They may not have the living skills to sustain independence, so they come to us before moving on and eventually getting a flat of their own.

”In general all the services find it difficult to get funding because it has shifted to emergency type services.

“You may get young people with a lower level of need, like those with emerging mental health problems.

“If they don’t get help early then it’s more expensive to pick it up later.”

The charity has been able to fund eight new homes for young people, where they learn life skills under the care of the YMCA.

The £400,000 cost of the project began with £10,000 raised at a fundraising sleapeasy which enabled the charity to attract further grants and donations.

The next sleepeasy, planned for May, will raise funds for emergency accommodation for young people.

Syrie added: “The great thing with the sleepeasy is that people can see tangible results. People who did it last year will be able to come and visit the properties and that’s nice for people.”

To find out more about this year’s Sleepeasy event and to register, visit www. southendymca .org.uk/sleepeasy J

FRUGAL FOODIE'S BIG SHOP FOR HUNGRY FAMILIES

THE Southchurch Foodbank, which was recently on the verge of running out of food, is now full to the brim thanks to a mammoth donation by poverty campaigner Jack Monroe.

Columnist and blogger Ms Monroe, whose previous struggle to survive on a low income saw her rely on the services of foodbanks, put her money where her mouth is and paid for 60 crates of food to be delivered to the foodbank after reading about its plight in the Echo.

Donations by others who saw the appeal mean the foodbank has enough food to support those who rely on it for weeks.

Ms Monroe, who had the food delivered following an online shop at Sainsburys, said: “A friend saw the story in the Echo and told me about it.

I have benefited from foodbanks myself so I couldn’t not do anything about it. I decided to do an online shop for them to get them over the next few days and then kickstart a campaign for donations. They do a wonderful job, but to get in that situation must be awful.

“My son used to go to nursery and got breakfast and lunch there, and during the holidays you suddenly have to get breakfast and lunch for your kids yourself and it can be hard.”

Cass Francis, warehouse coordinator at the foodbank, said: “We are absolutely thrilled.

Truckloads of stuff arrived.

Donations started to arrive from other people following the Echo article and then Jack arrived with 60 crates.

“We didn’t get a chance to put it away. It will take a five hour shift to log it all in and put it away.”

Ms Francis added: “The Storehouse has also given us a donation so I would saywe have enough food for about three weeks. It’s great because we had a very busy donation point at Bellvue. We had 19 people in the two hours we were open.

“This is proper community spirit. Jack came down right at the beginning when we started in November 2013 and spoke at our dedication services. She had previously benefited from foodbanks herself so wanted to give something back.

“That’s honesty in action to say you will do something and then do it.”

Here’s the online shopping list Jack Monroe submitted to Sainsburys to help the Southchurch Foodbank restock its shelves

*48 bags of sugar 

* 82 packets of biscuits 

* 96 cartons of UHT milk 

* 24 packets of dried fruit 

* 36 bags of mash

*96 tins of veg

* 48 tins of beans/spaghetti/pasta 

* 92 jars of pasta sauce 

* 48 tins of fruit 

*24 tins of potatoes 

* 36 boxes of cereal 

* 96 jars of jam/honey 

* 48 tins of custard 

* 30 packets of noodles 

* 54 packets of pasta 

* 40 jars of chinese or curry sauce 

* 52 bags of rice 

* 108 tins of fish 

* 32 tins of beans and pulses 

* 60 tins of chopped tomatoes 

* 200 mini chocolate bars

*210 lunchbox treats 

* 60 cartons of long life juice 

* 60 bottles of squash 

* 36 packets of tampax

* 24 toothbrushes

*24 packets of toothpaste 

* 60 bottles of shower gel and shampoo