Foodbanks and families protest slashed budgets outside Town Hall
With holidays approaching, the 10,000 families relying on Council funding for food still don’t have regular deliveries back – or answers to where the money has gone.
On Wednesday morning Tower Hamlets residents, foodbank recipients and volunteers gathered outside the Town Hall to protest extreme budget cuts to food deliveries from the Council.
The roughly 60 protesters gathered outside the Town Hall holding a banner that said ‘Broken Promises Mayor Rahman’ and ‘Reverse the Food Cuts,’ and chanting slogans like ‘Please sir can we have more.’ Representatives from Somalian and Bangladeshi representatives of the foodbank network gave speeches.
Food banks, churches, mosques, schools and community organisations all receive food for redistribution from the Tower Hamlets Food Hub (THFH), a council-funded delivery system. Some 10,000 families rely on the food it provides.
A November 13 investigation by The Slice showed the THFH delivery budget had been drastically cut by as much as 80% without any notice to families or organisations.
Since then the 80 organisations which redistribute the THFH deliveries have been unable to meet demands for food, and have not heard back any answer on why the budget was cut or if it will ever be reinstated.
‘It’s a tragedy’, said Ryan Lynch, organiser of a foodbank in Bethnal Green. ‘Many families will go short of food this Christmas after the cut in the foodbanks budget’.
‘We haven’t received a single communication from the Mayor or council officers who have carried out this decision. Surely we deserve an answer to our request for a meeting’ said Lynch.
Organisers told The Slice that the Council have refused to host an official petition on their website. In addition the protest, campaign postcards from foodbank recipients and volunteers have also been sent to the Mayor’s office calling on him to reverse his decision.
The Council have been contacted for a comment, which will be added to this piece once it is received.
