Lynne – Volunteer charitable food organisation, Mid Cornwall Jan 2025
‘Now that 2024 is well and truly behind us, let me tell you the reality of Christmas here in Cornwall. The struggling families on benefits who were told at the beginning of December, that they must apply for the new universal credit. Only to find as soon as they did all their benefits were immediately stopped while they changed from one welfare system to another. Leaving them with no money at all for five to six weeks in the run up, during, and after Christmas, while their claims were being sorted. Like the mother of an autistic child and a stroke victim husband, who turned up on Christmas day to our food bank and broke down in floods of tears in my arms because we gave her food. Then there were the pensioners who, along with this benefit nightmare, also relying on their stolen winter fuel allowance, now facing bailiffs, while they freeze in their homes. Having precious little to eat and certainly unable to afford any meat, to help them keep warm. Their humiliation and desperation complete at having to seek out an open food bank over Christmas. Almost all being closed for the holiday period.
Christian’s, Muslims, people of every creed and colour being helped and helping where they could to support our community, yet no paper or radio station wanting to print such a story. Only bad news is News…..!!!
The tears of relief as you hand out food to the truly hungry. My grateful tears of joy as food arrived from one small food larder run by a local family, and two enormous vans of food that came all the way from Plymouth to the bottom of Cornwall to rescue our desperately hungry locals. The over seven thousand hits on Facebook over Christmas and Boxing Day from people in need. Their gut-wrenching stories repeated over and over again, through tears and hugs. The soothing of embarrassed pensioners and young ones alike. Children, arriving home hungry because their grandparents had nothing to feed them with!
THIS IS THE TRUE DICKENSIAN CHRISTMAS HERE IN CORNWALL.
With it’s beautiful beaches, expensive shops and restaurants and an army of poor underpaid residents, herded together like rats in a one room apartment with a shared kitchen for £900 per month. While our seaside villages stand empty all winter with their fancy holiday let name plaques and closed shutters.
THIS WAS THE REALITY OF CHRISTMAS HERE
IN OUR BELOVED, BEWILDERED AND BROKEN CORNWALL…’
