How a community has reduced the need for food banks

A food bank has gone from handing out about 18,000 food parcels in 2023 to 5,000 in 2025.

The Rob Clarke Community Trust (RCCT), which runs a food bank in the Suffolk port and seaside town of Lowestoft, says its usage figures paint an interesting picture.

It works with the national anti-poverty charity Trussell Trust, which has confirmed the figures, adding that usage had gone down at all three food banks it supports in Suffolk - the others being in Haverhill and elsewhere in the Waveney Valley.

The Trussell Trust said across those three food banks, 26,494 parcels had been given out in 2023 compared to 11,779 in 2025. So far in 2026, the figure is 6,099.

So why is demand falling?

The RCCT's Sam Porter believes the reduced usage in Lowestoft is down to its financial inclusion project, which runs alongside the foodbank and is supported by Citizens Advice East Suffolk.

"We have our own adviser in the Foodbank Centre. She is seeing around 300-400 people a year and the results have been amazing. One in five no longer need to return to the foodbank," he said.

The adviser helps by checking people are on the right benefits, making sure they are not owed anything and helping them with the benefit forms.

"I don't think the cost of living has particularly gone down for people, but there seems to be more stability. Once people know what they're getting, and it's the right amount and it stays the same, it's much easier for people to budget," said Porter.

"The town has seen new community fridges and things like that open up, which has been a massive help."

The other project the RCCT runs is Food In the School Holidays (Fish), which has been going for eight years. Porter said the holidays could be "hard work" for many families and there had been an increase in family boxes being handed out.

Josh and Jade Doddington have come to Sgt Peppers on Lowestoft's High Street with their five children.

The restaurant is donating a free lunch for families via the Fish scheme and more than 40 families are booked in.

Josh, 36, a warehouse operator who grew up in the town, said: "There's plenty of families out there struggling to go out for meals.

"Cost of living is a lot higher than it ever has been in my life. It's a huge help to families, especially when we've got such a large family as well."

His partner Jade, 34, said looking after five children through the school holidays could be "tough" and a free lunch meant they could make a day out of it.

"Our food shopping bill is quite high, so when you can have a hot meal in the afternoon you can sort of have an easier tea in the evening - it's really good," she said.

"You feel like you've got a sense of belonging within your community."

Frances Savage and her two children have also come to the Beatles-inspired restaurant. She and her husband both work.

"To try and pay for all our bills and for the food, having something like this is a little bit of a lifeline really," she said.

It is not just the free food that Savage, a mobile barber, comes for. She says it is also the coming together that is really important.

"I think there's a lot of mums who sit at home and just feel like they're in their own world and don't know where to go. This sort of brings everyone out."

The owners of Sgt Peppers, Joanne and Collin Smith, had both volunteered at the food bank and were approached to host a Fish event.

Joanne said: "We do it two or three times a year in the school holidays. And as you can see, we have a full house.

"We thought what a lovely thing to do, to be able to open the doors for people who might not otherwise be able to come. It's nice to be able to give something back.

"It's always full and they have a waiting list so, if anyone can't make it, there are always people waiting to take their places, so it's definitely very needed."

The Eastpoint Vineyard, a new church in Lowestoft, provides volunteers to manage the Fish events and activities for the children.

"It's really hard to put into words the difference that doing this makes for families," said senior pastor Jonathan Coe.

"Families that rely on free school meals during school time... if you've got one or two or three or four or five kids at home during the summer and suddenly you've got no assistance with food... to give them a good meal, it makes such a difference."

A government spokesperson said Labour was "determined to turn the tide on poverty after years of rising hardship".

"Our recent statistics show that effort is beginning to make a difference - household incomes have risen 5% in real terms, food bank usage has fallen, and food insecurity is down.

"Our £1bn Crisis and Resilience Fund can be used by councils to run schemes such as benefit support checks, so everyone knows what they're entitled to, and our guidance confirms they can use vouchers to support free school meal families during the holidays."

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