A COMMUNITY stalwart who has organised support for hundreds of families in Woodley is concerned the deepening cost of living crisis is going to cost lives.
Ronnie Goodberry started the Woodley Volunteer for Covid-19 to assist residents throughout the pandemic.
The scheme was set up to ensure that no Woodley resident would be left without essential food or medicine.
It has since become the Woodley Food Drive, with an aim of helping vulnerable people and households across the town.
He said he has seen demand for food parcels more than double in recent months as families struggle with the cost of living.
He said: “Where I was previously doing one or two food parcels a week, I am doing five or six now. And that is just emergency parcels.
“What the food banks are doing is incredible and I would imagine their increase is the same.”
A lot of people Mr Goodberry is talking to are struggling to afford the basic necessities to live day-to-day.
“They can’t afford the increases,” he said.
“Their heating has gone up, their food bills have gone up, their rents or mortgages have gone up. Everything is getting out of control.”
Mr Goodberry is concerned that people won’t know where to go for help, or will feel embarrassed by asking for it, which he said shouldn’t be the case.
He added: “I don’t want to say this, but I worry that people will lose their lives because of it.”
Mr Goodberry praised the borough’s councils for doing what they can but has called on the government to intervene with further support.
“A lot of these people are falling through the cracks because the government doesn’t know how to deal with it,” he said.
“The local authorities are doing their best, and fair play to them. They seem to have their finger on the pulse, but even they can’t sustain it for that long.”
With inflation impacting all residents, Mr Goodberry thinks donations could reduce as people who had previously been unaffected begin to consider their own finances.
“We haven’t got an unlimited pocket and all our stuff comes from the kindness and goodness of residents,” he said.
“Before long we will see a decrease because they can’t carry on doing what they are doing on a long-term basis.
“They have had nearly three years of this and their generosity is going to weaken because they can’t afford it themselves.”
For anyone who would like to make a donation to the cause, the most requested food items include most tinned food products, pasta and other dried produce..
Mr Goodberry added: “Anything that can be used to make a sustainable meal, we will find a home for it.”
Donations can be dropped off at 117 Shackleton Way.
For more information, search Woodley Volunteer’s For Our Community (Covid-19) on Facebook
