Cost of living crisis ‘out of control’, says Jess Brown-Fuller Lib Dem Candidate

Recent data from Chichester Food Bank shows that 5,523 people accessed the foodbank from January – October inclusive this year, an increase of 18% from the same period last year. Additionally, 2,113 children were provided with emergency food, a rise of 21% from the same period last year. More than a fifth of those accessing Foodbank services in the Chichester area in 2023 were not on benefits. This reliance on emergency foodbanks by those who are in work highlights the real crisis facing many in the Chichester area this winter.

As the school Christmas holidays approach, families with young children are especially feeling the pressure of this out-of-control cost of living crisis. Despite going without essentials like heating and toiletries, many of these working families cannot keep up with the soaring costs of private rental, inflation at the supermarket and energy bills.

Jess comments: “While we all applaud the wonderful support and generosity of foodbank donors and volunteers, it is a sad fact that today ordinary people find themselves increasingly, through no fault of their own, reliant on charity to feed their families. There are just too many families falling through the cracks.

"It’s a failure of the government that this service is even needed. Right now, emergency food parcels are needed more than ever by Chichester constituents and the government must act immediately to resign food poverty in the UK to a thing of the Victorian era, where it belongs. The government must take urgent, adequate action now to ensure hard-working families in Chichester can feed their children.”